Xander's Dilemma
by EJonna
Summary: Xcole story. Xander Cook was not expecting his visit to Salem to be anything but a brief visit to his former partner in crime, Serena Mason, so he could apply some much-needed pressure on her to finish the job she so royally screwed up. However, things don't go nearly as smoothly as anticipated when Xander finds himself face-to-face with trouble, going by the name of Nicole Walker.
1. Chapter 1

Note: A big thank you to all my Xcole buddies who helped to inspire this fic. I am stealing so many of your great ideas I can hardly take credit for writing this on my own. Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 1

Xander Cook sat on the foot of his bed in his Salem Inn hotel room, gripping a near-empty glass of scotch tightly in one hand as the other squeezed his cell phone with equal force; a reaction brought on by the image the phone's screen displayed: Nicole Walker.

Nicole Walker. He remembered how divinely her name had rolled off his tongue, and how he had found himself saying her name aloud frequently while his brain endlessly pondered innumerable future encounters. He initially hadn't been looking forward to this bit of business with Serena in Salem, but meeting Nicole changed everything. Originally he'd planned to head back to Europe after Serena came through with the diamonds, but suddenly he was looking for excuses to stay. It was only luck that Uncle Victor just happened to require his assistance in town, otherwise he would have had to think up another good reason to stick around. Not that Nicole herself wasn't a good reason, but since the discovery of her relationship to Daniel, and assorted other members of the family, she was off-limits to him.

Daniel Jonas. The man wasn't even a blood relative yet his Uncle Victor put him on a bloody damn pedestal along with the likes of Brady and Philip who at least earned their place by birthright, even if he personally felt they were undeserving. Meanwhile, who was the one turning the huge profits for dear uncle? As successful as Titan was, it certainly wasn't either of his cousins, or Victor freakin' Kiriakis himself...it was him. Xander. Xander Cook, as it was, since Uncle Victor had insisted taking on a pseudonym was necessary to avoid tarnishing the sacred Kiriakis name in the event that he might majorly screw up again. Of course, not everyone could be like Daniel. Yes, Doctor Daniel had it all. He was a successful, highly regarded surgeon who'd saved hundreds of lives. His eyes rolled in his head as he imagined the look of pride on his uncle Victor's face as he expressed the many virtues of Daniel to a disinterested, fantasy version of himself who then proceeded to tell his uncle exactly what he thought about the good doctor. Of course a fantasy was all it was destined to be. He could never let on his feelings to his uncle. It had taken him years of being on his best behavior to earn a spot back in the family fold, and he wasn't about to let it all go to hell now. After all, Uncle Victor was eighty years old. Time was ticking for him to work his way up the ladder. He couldn't let Daniel Jonas get under his skin. But he sure had found a way to get under Daniel's.

He was actually just on the fringe of what was going to be a most enjoyable endeavor: he was going to steal Daniel's girl right from under his nose and he would be completely powerless to stop it. Everywhere Daniel would go he would see a happy, smiling Nicole. Daniel wouldn't be able to go to the park, the grocery store, anywhere, without seeing the two of them together, he'd make sure of it.

But that was before he found out Nicole was onto them. He leaned down to place his glass on the floor for fear that he would break it and be forced to patch up a bloody hand. The last thing Nicole needed was something else to alarm her. If only that damn Serena had alerted him about Nicole's curiosity over the elephant statues sooner, he could have done a much better job at damage control. Serena was right; Nicole knew a whole lot more than he ever could have imagined, proven by her behavior outside of Daniel's apartment today. She had been so anxious to get away from him that she declined to wait for an elevator and chose to take the stairs for her escape. It was becoming more and more clear that he did not have to luxury of time to sit back and carefully consider what to do about her. He was going to have to make a move, now.

With a few swipes of his thumb across the screen of his phone, he accessed his recent calls and redialed his last contact. "Yes,' the sultry-sounding woman's voice on the other end answered.

"Yeah, that thing I told you to take care of today? Forget about it. I'm going to handle this one myself."

He didn't wait for a response, partly as a time-saver but mostly because it wasn't needed. He was in charge of this situation so the opinions or approval of others was unnecessary. Besides, Nicole wasn't the first person he would kidnap on his own...but she would certainly be the most beautiful and entertaining one. He found himself grinning as he imagined the fun yet to come as he dialed her number to confirm the details of their date.

"Xander, hi, uh..I'm glad you called."

"Are you? You don't sound glad." She definitely didn't. Nervous, apprehensive, maybe...but not glad.

"You know, you're right, you got me. I'm not glad because I'm afraid I have to cancel our date tonight. Again."

"What is it this time, Nicole? WOrk? Daniel? You're donating an organ?"

"Ha! See, that's a perfect example there why I am truly disappointed! You're such a funny guy and I know we would have so much fun together!"

The insincerity he could now easily identify in her voice infuriated him. Of course it had always been there before, but he had been too bewitched by her to acknowledge it for what it was. She was playing him again. He knew very well exactly what she would be doing tonight if he didn't put a stop to it, and if he didn't put a stop to it, she would put a stop to him faster than you could say 'goodbye Xander Cook.'

"We would have so much fun together, it's true, but I'm afraid if I don't see you tonight that will never happen. I've been summoned back home indefinitely to take care of some very important company business. I have to leave for Switzerland first thing in the morning."

"Oh, I, uh...I'm sorry to hear that," she replied with genuine shock which caused him to break into a smile once again. She was taking the bait. If he disappeared into thin air, then all of her troubles trying to figure out what he was up to was for naught. If she was smart, which there wasn't a doubt in his mind she was, she would attempt to keep him around until she got the dirt that she needed on him to turn him in. There was no way in the world she wouldn't meet him tonight. He would bet his life on it.

"You know, I was blowing you off because of work, but obviously these are special circumstances. I would love to see you tonight."

"Terrific! But I truly hope I won't be causing problems for you at work. I will be coming back to Salem, I'm just not sure when that will be."

"I don't know. You might find a little Swiss Miss over there and change your mind. I can't let that happen."

"I doubt anyone could change my mind how I feel about you, Nicole." No one, and nothing could. Not even her insistence to expose him. He was still absolutely bonkers over her.

"Oh, Xander. You keep that up and you might find me packed in your suitcase. Look, I gotta tie up a few loose ends here before I can disappear. We still on for eight then?"

"Sounds good to me. I can't wait to see you tonight, Nicole."

"Me too. Bye."

He began to chuckle as he tossed the phone down on the bed beside him. "Tying up a few loose ends, huh Nicole? Looks like I'm going to be typing up a few loose ends of my own tonight. Namely, you."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Coming," Nicole shouted in response the ring of the doorbell as she checked her appearance one final time in the full-length mirror on the interior of her bedroom door. "Yep, Nikki. That oughtta do the trick,' she said aloud, giving her reflection a knowing wink in regard to the over-abundance of cleavage she was putting on display in the low cut, form fitting red mini-dress she wore for Xander's amusement this evening.

Their last few meetings had been quite uncomfortable and she feared he was beginning to sense something was amiss with her. Of course this was her own fault. If she hadn't been so concerned with Daniel's feelings, she could have given him a more solid performance. She was no stranger to using her body and womanly wiles to get what she wanted. In fact, that behavior had served her well for the majority of her life. That was until she woke up one day and realized she was nearly forty, once again single, childless, and completely miserable. It was then that she vowed to change her evil ways. Tonight would be nothing more than a brief invocation of old Nicole for good times' sake, and for a good cause. She wasn't about to let that bitch Serena Mason and her bff Xander, or whatever they were in relation to one another, ruin Eric's life and, for once, she wasn't looking to gain anything from the act. She was a completely reformed person now. Too bad she was the only person who seemed to realize this. It was either that, or she was the only one completely oblivious to the truth.

"Xander," she cooed seductively, flashing her most brilliant smile to the handsome man standing before her bearing a dozen red roses in his arm. Her gasp of delight in response to the obviously expensive, carefully-selected flowers was of the sincere variety. "For me," she squealed happily, accepting the bouquet being passed to her graciously. "Thank you. They are absolutely beautiful. Red roses are my favorite."

"You're welcome. I wouldn't dream of bringing you anything but the best but I'm afraid even the most beautiful flower pales in comparison to you. You look absolutely stunning."

She could feel herself blushing. _Damn, you Nicole_ , she scolded herself. _Don't get caught up in Xanadu and let Xander woo you with his pretty accent and words._ She could feel his eyes were already undressing her and she immediately sought to draw his attention away from her body despite the fact she's spent the last hour designing her entire look to do precisely the opposite. "Well, I don't know about you but eight o'clock couldn't have come any sooner cuz I am completely starved."

"I like a woman with a hearty appetite. Have you decided where you'd like to go?"

"Well, I was going to suggest you fly us to Vegas in your private jet, assuming you have one, so we could go to Le Cirque. I hear they have the best French cuisine in Vegas."

Xander bobbed his head from side to side as he seemed to consider the idea. "Let me ask you this. Why go to Vegas for French cuisine when you could go to Paris and have the real thing?"

"I-I don't know," Nicole stammered, clearly taken aback by his suggestion, but enthralled nonetheless. "Hey, I was only kidding about Vegas anyway. I was actually going to suggest we just grab a bite at the Brady Pub."

"The Brady Pub? You mean, Eric's family's place?" Predictable choice. She was sticking to her comfort zone.

"Yeah. I mean, as nice as it would be to dine in Paris, you and I both know that's not happening with your schedule and since we have so little time, I was hoping we could spend the majority of our time together. In private."

 _Oh Nicole, you naughty, naughty girl,_ he said to himself as he beheld the dangerous, yet bewitching, little temptress before him, bearing that inviting smile which begged for him to take control and ravage her right then and there. Of course he realized now it was all part of her game which therefore squashed the idea of making his fantasy a reality. He wasn't about taking advantage of a woman in compromising situations. There was no fun to be had in physically overpowering someone for sexual gratification who didn't stand a chance against you, or wasn't mentally submitting herself willfully. The real challenge, the thing that turned him on, was controlling her mind, but not by barking out orders for her to obey or be punished. The real thrill was convincing her to make the proper choices of her own free will through extensive mental conditioning which was, despite sounding rather sinister, actually very empowering for the woman's role in the relationship. Of course that could also take a great deal of time but when Nicole was the prize, it would be well worth his wait.

He would have some fun with her this evening before things turned serious. He fully intended to kiss her before she had a chance to spit in his face, and he was going to enjoy every minute of pushing her boundaries...seeing how close he could get before she pushed him away. It would give him some idea how much work there was to be done. Naturally there would have to be some physical restraint at first until he found an alternate method of controlling her for now which usually came in the form of threatening the lives of loved ones. Eventually the threats would stop when she experienced the positive effects of making the right decisions but for now, his challenge was going to be finding his target and he was going to have to keep Nicole incapacitated until all his ducks were in a row. In the couple of hours between his last phone conversation with her and their present meeting, he had located the perfect place to do so.

"Well, if that is really what you want, Nicole, I have something better in mind."

"Oh, ok, let's hear it."

"Well, since we seem to keep getting interrupted at the hotel, I thought I'd find us a nice, quiet little place where we can be alone and really get to know one another. As fun as 'fun' sounds, I think we'd both feel a bit more at ease if we addressed each other's burning questions. I think our inability to be up-front and honest with each other has put a damper on what was at the very least, a nice, blossoming friendship. I say we grab some Chinese, head to the cabin, and have one of those long talks you mentioned. I'm offering to go first and answer all of your questions about Serena."

"Cabin? Like, in the woods?"

"It's only about twenty minutes away. The ones up on the lake? Surely you know which ones I mean."

"Yeah, yeah, I think so," she responded distantly as her mind struggled to map out where the closest police department might be.

"Is it a bit too much too soon? Nicole, I promise you, my only objective was to secure some uninterrupted alone time with you. I can guarantee you if Serena knew I was with you, she would be stopping by. We were once an item, you see. It's a long, complicated story but to make short of it for now, things went sour and I broke it off and she's been determined to make my life miserable ever since."

He watched with private satisfaction as the skeptical look in her eyes that had been present since their last meeting vanished like a burning flame suddenly and unexpectedly extinguished by a strong wind. He knew exactly what she was thinking, that perhaps she might have misjudged him or jumped to the wrong conclusions based on inaccurate presumptions. Little cabin by the lake, here we come.

"No, no it's- it's not. That'll be fine." Really, at this point, what did she have to lose? Daniel already thought she was a cheating whore and if Eric was in danger, Xander's unpredicted revelation seemed to imply that Serena was not only the root of Eric's problems, but his own too. She was still skeptical of him, but also relieved that maybe her judgement wasn't nearly as poor as she thought. She had known from the second she met Serena that she was no good but, for a short time, Xander had her fooled. If only for a second, she had pegged him as the kind that she could really find herself falling for. Someone like EJ. OK, bad example.

"I'm hoping for more than just fine, Nicole. I've been looking forward to this moment ever since I laid eyes on you."

Nicole felt as if her feet were planted in cement as he inched closer and closer. Surely he could see her chest heaving like a timid little bunny rabbit unsure of which way to run away from impending danger. Not that she was necessarily still under the impression that he was dangerous, but...

Her thoughts were disrupted by the pair of warm, tender lips which were now softly engulfing her quivering ones. He was gentle at first, allowing her time to decide whether or not to accept his embrace. If there was at all any doubt at first, her subtle moaning which surprised even her gave him the green light to step it up a notch by planting an arm around her waist and a hand to the back of her head to draw her in with more persistence and passion. When she kissed him back with a hunger for it that was on par with his, it became a test to see who would pull away first. If he'd the opportunity to wager on it, he would have said her and walked away a winner. He could very easily have kissed her all night long.

"Maybe this isn't such a great idea after all."

Xander frowned. "Nicole, I won't do anything you don't want me to. I think it's important that we address this thing between the two of us, and I can't think of a better opportunity to do that than now. I'll be gone tomorrow and won't be back until god only knows when. We'll then both have plenty of time to think about how we truly feel, and where to go from here."

Nicole shrugged her shoulders in surrender. "You're right. That makes perfect sense. Besides, even if Daniel were to find out where I was, how much harm could be done in one little night, right?"

"Right," he replied, nodding agreeably with what she would have normally been able to detect as a most mischevious grin if he hadn't managed to successfully impair her judgement with his most foolproof kiss. She was about to find out exactly how much harm could be done in one night, though he didn't like the term 'harm.' 'Life-altering changes' was more like it and as he saw it, for the better, certainly for him, but for her as well in the long run. If she truly wanted to remember fun, he was the man for the job but, first, he was going to have to break her free from all the character damage done over the years by scumbag, judgmental bastards like Daniel Jonas and Eric Brady, and it was not going to be easy. He knew this even before discovering everything there was to know about Nicole Walker. It wasn't even because of the obvious tell-tale signs of a woman that had been abused: the shifting of her eyes, or her constant apologies for simple things like speaking her opinions. He knew because the look in her eyes the day they first met told him so. For those first few seconds when their eyes locked for the first time, without any desire on his part to sound conceited, she had gazed wistfully into his eyes as if he were the answer to all her prayers.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Alright, Nicole, what's wrong?"

"Hmmmm," she responded to Xander's question by shaking her head swiftly from side to side as if the motion itself would clear away the many thoughts which had been distracting her from her 'date.' She focused her eyes back on him and leaned toward him over the candellit dinner table where they sat in attempt to demonstrate he once again had her full attention.

"For someone who was so hungry, you've barely touched your dinner, nevermind the fact you seem to be a million miles away."

"I know, I'm sorry. I guess I just have a lot on my mind."

He reached across the table and grabbed her hand to give it a tight squeeze. "No need to apologize. It's perfectly understandable. May I ask if it's one thing, or one person perhaps, in particular?"

 _Well, yeah, that's why I'm here! It's the only reason I'm here_ , she said to herself silently and a lot less subtly than she was about to explain for Xander's sake. "I guess you could say that."

"Daniel?"

"Well, I'd be a liar if I said I wan't thinking about him but, oddly enough, no. He's not the one I'm worried about."

"Alright, then who? Is it me, or something I've done?"

His grip tightened on her hand, causing her to peer through the flickering light illuminating the space between them to meet his gaze. His expression was so kind, and there seemed to be nothing but genuine concern in his eyes. Still, although his demeanor seemed to put her at ease, she knew she must carefully choose her words until she was absolutely certain he didn't pose a threat. "It's Serena. I was thinking about Serena."

"Ah, yes, Serena," he replied, shaking his head diapprovingly as he grabbed the wine bottle and proceeded to pour them both another glass. "Only Serena could manage to spoil one's evening when she's not even here in the flesh to do so herself."

"I'm sorry," Nicole apologized aloud while silently scolding herself for the major faux paux. She should have waited until they had more time to unwind and maybe allow him to have a little bit of the fun he was surely expecting before initiating the inquisition. Time to do some damage control. "You know what, Serena can wait until later. As a matter of fact," she began as she rose out of her chair and strutted to his side of the table taking a new seat on his lap. Grabbing him by the tie and reeling him toward her, she continued, "If I want to know someting about Serena, then I should probably just ask Serena, which I can do tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that." She inched her lips closer and closer to his with each consecutive word until they were so close she could almost feel them touching. "What I won't be able to do tomorrow is this." She began to kiss him, approaching him much more aggressively than he'd been with her earlier by throwing all her weight into him as she pinned him toward the back of his chair. He entertained her briefly by allowing her to kiss him this way but this kiss was way different than the one they'd shared earlier, and it left him dry. It wasn't that the quality of the kiss itself was lacking, but because he knew that it came with an agenda. Surely she'd come to the realization that time was ticking and it was game on for Nicole once again. Well, two could play at that game.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her away gently although his lips still continued to search for hers even after he began to draw his head away. He offered her an apologetic frown upon seeing the look of surprise on her face.

"What? What's the matter? Do I have a big ol' stalk of broccoli stuck in my teeth or something?"

He began to chuckle convivially, shaking his head from side to side dismissively in response to her question. "No, it's not you Nicole. Well, I mean, it has nothing to do with my feelings for you anyway. Look, honestly, I'm glad you brought up Serena because this is something that's been bothering me for a very long time."

"What, something to do with Serena?"

"Serena, Eric. As his friend, I think there are some things you really need to know."

"Wow, OK," Nicole said, shaking her head with disbelief in reaction to her stroke of luck. Maybe getting to the bottom of the Serena/Xander mystery wasn't going to be half as challenging as she thought it was. "Come on, shoot! Tell me, is Eric in danger?"

Xander frowned and made several attempts to speak that got lost somewhere in transmission. Of course this display was none other than him playing the role of the reluctant informant. So far she had fallen for everything else hook, line, and sinker. Surely his next move would go just as smoothly. "Nicole believe me, I want to explain everything to you but I've been sworn to secrecy. It's the kind of secret that you never tell another living soul, partly for fear of what that person might think of you, but mostly because if anyone ever found out you told someone, you'd be dead by the day's end."

"Xander!" She hopped to her feet and began to pace a three foot span of floor space beside his chair back and forth. "Oh no, this does not sound good at all."

"I know," he said slamming his fist down on the table with enough force to rattle the dinnerware. "God, I don't even know why I said anything at all. You realize, I can't tell you, Nicole, I just can't."

"Oh no, you can't do that to me. You can't say something like that and expect me to just forget it."

"It's not my secret to tell, Nicole, it's Serena's. I'm involved simply because I know, and if I tell you, then you become involved too."

"And Eric? What happens to him when he becomes involved?"

"I don't know. I suppose it won't be good."

"Xander, you have to tell me what happened."

"I've never told anyone for over ten years. I don't know if I can bring myself to do it."

"Xander, you realize-"

"Unless..."

Nicole froze mid-sentence in response to Xander's interjection. "Unless, what?"

"What if I didn't tell you but somebody else did?"

"Come again?"

Xander bounced out of his chair with renewed enthusiasm and proceeded to grab her by the shoulders, directing her head in the direction of his gaze. "Did you mean it when you said you liked to have fun?"

"No, I hate having fun. Fun sucks."

"OK, very funny but I'm quite serious. I mean, when you say fun, do you mean you're the adventurous type?"

"I guess..where are you going with this?"

"Have you ever role-played?"

"I can't believe this," she said as she shook her head in disgust.

"No, hear me out. What if I'm not being me, and you're not being you, and I just happen to tell you something that sounds a hell of a lot like what actually happened with me and Serena. But of course it wouldn't be me and Serena, it would be Nicholas and, oh, I dunno..."

"Bitch," Nicole took the liberty of finishing for him.

"Fine, bitch it is. What do you say, are you game?"

"Hey, whatever floats your boat. So, Nicholas, who am I and why are you sharing this information with me?"

"Oh dear, this is about to get complicated all over again," he said, shaking his head as he picked up one of the two duffel bags he brought in with him from the car that evening. Nicole watched with interest as he rummaged through the bag and withdrew a pair of fur-lined handcuffs.

"Oh no, I hope you don't think I'm going to be putting those things on. Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Please, let me explain my reasoning-"

"You could start by explaining why you travel the globe carrying furry handcuffs with you!"

"I-I don't. I just bought these today. I thought if you were truly up for some fun tonight I'd propose the idea, that's all. They're just cheap, novelty store handcuffs any teenager can wander into the local mall and buy. There's even a release button so you could get out of them at any time without a key."

"Why would you want me to waer them for your fantasy? I'm the one trying to get information out of you, aren't I. Shoudln't you be wearing them while I'm interrogating you."

"Well," he began, showcasing a goofy smile, "while I must admit I would enjoy that scenario under different circumstances, I don't think it would do the trick in this case. I've been conditioned to not fold under pressure. If I share something with you, there has to be something in it for me."

Nicole rolled her eyes. "OK, I can't even believe I'm entertaining this but, go ahead. Elaborate."

"OK, so say you are a beautiful investigative reporter, and I have taken you captive because there is some very important information you know that I must have, but you are no ordinary prisoner. You're very wise and headstrong so you stand your ground and you refuse to share unless I answer things that you want to know about me. If I want what I want, then I must give you what you want. Quid pro quo. Make sense?"

She stared at him completely speechless. He could tell by the way her chest was heaving that she was growing nervous. She was uncertain about her judgment of him once more and he needed to be prepared for the unexpected from this moment forward. There was no predicting what she might do at this point.

"Look, I really do realize how bizarre this must sound to you but Nicole, I promise you the last thing I want is to put you in any kind of danger." Although Nicole might not see it that way in a matter of minutes, it was indeed a true statement, as was the next one. "I only want to protect you. And look, would I do this," he said as he slapped the cuffs on his wrists and squeeed them shut as tightly as they would go around his wrists before promptly and effortlessly releasing the restraints with the push of a button. "Would I do that if I wasn't absolutely certain I could effectively demonstrate how easy it would be to free yourself?"

"Xander, I-"

He put his arms around her waist and drew her closely to him as he gazed determinedly into her eyes. "Look at me, Nicole. When you look into my eyes, do you see somebody who would ever do a thing to hurt you?"

"No," she whispered, clearly startling herself by the sound of her own voice.

"Then I need you to trust me." With one arm around her waist he guided her back to her chair at the table and coaxed her to sit down. Once seated, he threaded her arms through the slats in the back of the chair then proceeded to carefully secure a cuff around each wrist, one by one. He made sure they were tight enough that her wrists could not slip through and the fur lining was able to provide some nice cushioning that your standard pair of law-enforcement issue handcuffs could not. It was a good thing they were comfy since she would be wearing them for quite a while. Little did Nicole know, he was already carrying another pair of similar cuffs in his inside jacket pocket which unfortunately for her did not sport the convenient release buttons. The only way to get those babies off was by a key that was stashed away in his duffel bag, far out of her reach.

He broke out into a wide grin when he could see that her thumbs were already frantically searching for the release buttons, probably just to know exactly where to press in the even that she needed to free herself. When she had trouble locating the non-existent buttons, he could see her begin to sweat.

"What's the matter, love? Were you looking for these?" He stepped in front of her to reveal that he was holding the very pair of handcuffs he had just shown her in his hands. Her eyes grew wide as his face leaned into hers, close but still far enough away where she would be able to see the look of satisfaction on his face from getting her right where he wanted her, and he did it without having to use a speck of force.

"You son of a bitch," she screamed, prompting him to quickly cover her mouth with his hand.

"Gotcha!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"If I remove my hand, do you promise me you're not going to scream, and that you and I can have a nice conversation using our inside voices?"

Nicole nodded. Given her current predicament of being cuffed to a chair with Xander sitting on her lap facing her with his hand covering her mouth, it was all she could do.

"Alright then," he replied, gazing at her sternly as he cautiously withdrew his hand. "You better keep your word necause if you scream again I'll be forced to gag you."

"Why are you doing this," she asked while her hands busily tested the effectiveness of her restraints.

"We don't have to pretend anymore Nicole," he said, leaning into her as his arms reached around the back of the chair to tighten each one of the cuffs around her wrists one more click for added insurance. "Now that I have you right where I want you, we're still going to play our little game only this time, we tell each other the truth. Since I won the introductory round, I go first. Tell me what you know about the elephant statues."

Nicole put on her best bewildered face. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

Xander shook his head from left to right disapprovingly. "That's not the correct answer. Serena has told me that you've taken up quite an interest in them. Why?"

"Why don't you tell me what is so special about those stupid statues."

"This isn't the way quid pro quo works, Nicole. If you want to know more you have to answer my question first, and it better be to my satisfaction or this will go nowhere."

Nicole clenched her teeth and took a few deep, calming breaths in effort to control her building rage. It was all she could do to keep from spitting in his face. "I just asked you to tell me what the big deal is about them so obviously I don't know much. All I know is Serena was awfully surprised when I caught her with two statues and when I confronted her about it, she tried to make me believe that I had imagined seeing the second one, insisting there was only one. But I know what I saw. Your turn."

"Fair enough," he stated, giving a single nod before rising up off her lap. He stalled his explanation briefly while he stepped away to fetch his duffel bag, and in the short amount of time his back was turned to her, Nicole began to feverishly struggle against her restraints. She had only seconds to give it everything she had but all her efforts were for naught as she could barely manage to shift her wrist inside the cuff. She was definitely in a bind for now, no pun intended.

Xander returned and knelt before her and reached into the bag he'd laid by her chair and retrieved a length of rope, confessing the following as he proceeded to also bind her ankles separately to each of the front legs of the chair. "There really is nothing special about the statues themselves, you see. It's what's inside them, well, one of them, that I'm concerned about."

"Which is," Nicole asked nervously, second-guessing if she even wanted to know the answer.

"I'll answer that when it's your turn. Why do you concern yourself so much with what Serena is doing?"

"Because I care about Eric and I knew from the minute I met her she was up to no good."

"Alright," he replied, giving each of her legs a firm tug to make sure they were secure enough for his satisfaction before he returned to his feet to grab his own chair which he placed directly in front of hers with the back of the chair facing in her direction. He straddled the seat and sat down on the chair backwards so that he could use the back as his armrest, then proceeded to lay his chin on top of his folded arms. He was at eye-level with her now, just barely over one foot away, and resting assured that she could not free herself, he used this perspective to give her his undivided attention. "Diamonds are what was inside one of the statues, Serena's statue. Why do you care so much about what happens to Eric?"

"God, you're starting to sound just like Daniel," she said with a sigh as she rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't care what Eric does with his life, or who he chooses to see. He was my first love, ok, so he's always going to hold a special place in my heart. I just don't want him to get hurt. Is he in danger?"

"Well, I'm going to leave that up to you, Nicole. If you agree to cooperate with me, I'll see to it that Eric is not harmed. Are you happy, Nicole?"

"What," she shrieked, shaking her head from side to side in utter disbelief. "I'm tied to a chair and stuck in a room with some second-rate thug and you have the nerve to ask me if I'm happy?"

"Allow me to clarify, and thank you for that lovely compliment, by the way. What I meant was, before all of this mess with Serena, elephant statues, me...were you happy?"

She was dead-set on promptly replying with en emphatic 'yes,' but her response didn't come as quickly or convincingly as she imagined it should. "Yes. Yes, of course, I'm happy. Daniel and I might have hit a bit of a bump, but we'll be fine. Why does Serena have diamonds in her elephant statue to begin with?"

"Well, I'm not sure I'm completely satisfied with your answer but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now. Serena had diamonds in her statue because she was smuggling them out of Africa for me. Well, not just for me, we became partners but Serena, being the nitwit that she is, packed the wrong statue when she moved away so she came back to Salem to find Eric so she could make the swap. It should have been a simple process but naturally she screwed up and now lives are at stake because of it. Eric's, hers, mine...now yours. What was the greatest moment of your life?"

"Why are you asking me all these stupid questions that have nothing to do with anything?"

"I'll answer that when it's your turn. Answer me first."

Nicole remained silent while she carefully considered how to respond. Of course she knew the answer, but she wasn't so keen on sharing the intimate details of her life with the man who was holding her hostage but in the back of her mind, she heard Dr. Lechter's stern warning to Clarice Starling during their quid pro quo session of, 'Don't lie or I'll know' nagging at her. "The happiest day of my life was when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter."

Xander could feel a lump forming in his throat as he watched her start to choke up and grow teary-eyed. He had done his research and learned that she had lost two babies, the first being a little girl. As a man completely incapable of ever knowing the unique reaction to such a tragic, heartbreaking loss, he relied solely on the emotions in the depths of her eyes as his only way to gauge her pain and suffering. He hadn't intended to upset her, but her revelation did award him with priceless insight to use to his advantage.

"Your answers to my seemingly stupid questions are very important. I have quite a dilemma, you see. Basically, as things stand right now, I have three options as to what I can do with you, The first one would be to kill you which really isn't an option judging by my book. I don't want to do that so that is why I was forced to take immediate action with you. If someone else were to find out that you knew something before I could diffuse the situation, you'd have a hit put on you and chances are I would be the one they would expect to do it. Option B is finding a place where I could stash you away for the rest of your life, also not my idea of a solution to the problem. Option C on the other hand, if you're willing to cooperate, could work out quite nicely for the both of us."

"what is option C?"

"My turn. What drives you? What motivates you to go after the things you want?"

She threw her head back and gazed up at the ceiling in attempt to keep the tears forming in her eyes from falling. Why was she doing this? Why was she even humoring this sick bastard by answering his stupid questions? It was his reaction to her that helped her to remember. Before she knew it, he was at her side, dabbing her moist eyes with a handkerchief he withdrew from the pocket of his jacket. How could one go from being so menacing one minute to being nothing but a big softie the next, and why was she falling for it, again? No...she wasn't about to let herself be fooled again and it was high time she started rebuilding her fortress. If she was going to get through this in one piece she had to have her wits about her, and she couldn't do that if she allowed him to get into her head. "I don't know...happiness, I guess," she lied, although it wasn't a blatant, all-out lie. Happiness was a part of the package deal that came with the honest answer to that question which she chose to keep private: love. Love was what motivated her. Not that she needed to learn to love; the way she saw it she had plenty to go around. She wanted to be loved by somebody, anybody, as long as that person truly meant it with all their heart, whether it be man, child or both.

Xander was frowning again. "I'm not sure I believe that one either but, to answer your question, Option C will not only allow you to live, it will give you back your freedom, and no one gets hurt. Are you willing to do anything to save the people you love?"

"Almost anything, I suppose. So tell me Xander, answer one of your own questions for me. What motivates you?"

He chuckled, and flashed a most brilliant, charming smile. "That's an easy one, silly. It's the desire to be loved, and to be accepted by those that I love." He leaned in close for his next remark, studying her eyes carefully as his lips spoke the words while only mere millimeters away from hers. "Isn't that what we all want, darling?"


	5. Chapter 5

Note: I gotta give credit to Ash for stealing one of her lines. It is so very Nicole that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use it. I have bolded the line in reference. Classic!

Chapter 5

Nicole kept her eyes fixated on Xander, who was now sitting at the table busily tapping away on his laptop, as she continued to work her restraints. Since she had already fought with trying to slip her hand through the cuff enough with no success, she turned her attention to trying to pick the lock. She had a few tactics she could try, the first being using one of her pinky nails, which she had spent some time chipping away to a point, to try to release it.

"What are you doing over there, Nicole," Xander inquired as he peered over the top of his computer screen. "I can hear those cuffs rattling, you know."

"I-uh- was just trying to rub my wrists a little. They're pretty sore."

"I'm sorry to hear that but I'm afraid there's not much I can do about that right now."

Nicole continued to engage him in hopes that the conversation would aid in drowning out any more noise she might make attempting escape. "So much for option C, huh? I said I'd go with it so where's my freedom, buddy?"

"You didn't exactly promise me your full cooperation. You said you'd do almost anything to save the people you love. That's not an acceptable answer."

"Fine, so why don't you tell me what it is you expect me to do then."

"I will, once I figure out exactly what that is. I didn't exactly have time to plan for this in advance, you know. I'm still ironing out the all the details."

 **"What details? So you need me to keep quiet about you being a diamond smuggler, big whoop! I was married to EJ DiMera, you know."**

"Yes, I know. And my Uncle Victor, as much I would like to forget that."

"So then why should I care? If you can promise me that Eric and everyone I love is out of harm's way, I have no problem keeping your secret."

He was about to reply when his cell phone started to ring. "I've got to take this call," he stated as he rose from his chair and hopped over to the duffel bag where he withdrew a piece of white cloth. Ignoring the incoming call for the time being, he stepped behind her and forced a section of cloth between her lips, then proceeded to knot the ends at the back of her head to create a gag. "I don't like to use tape," he explained matter-of-factly. "Any kind effective enough to do the job could remove your skin and I wouldn't want to be the one responsible for marring one of God's most beautiful creations.

She could feel her hear racing as he stepped back in front of her and cupped her chin in his hand, proceeding to trace the outline of her bottom lip with the soft stroke of his thumb. "I'm sorry about this," he apologized seemingly sincerely as he gazed into her eyes. "I just can't risk you making a peep while I'm on the phone with this person, but I also want you to hear this conversation.

Nicole watched Xander drag his chair back to the spot used during their little quid pro quo session where he assumed his previous position after redialing his missed call, set the phone to speaker, then placed it on the table. "Daniel," he exclaimed with all the delight of one who had finally gotten in touch with a long-lost friend as he smiled devilishly at Nicole. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to answer right away. I was busy wrapping up a little project I was working on." He couldn't resist winking at Nicole during that last remark. "What's going on, mate?"

Nicole had begun to whimper at the mention of Daniel's name, causing Xander to rise up out of his chair and approach her from behind where he placed his hand over her already gagged mouth since it proved to not be effective enough for his liking.

"Xander, hi. Have you seen Nicole," the slightly distorted voice came through the speaker, prompting Nicole to scream with everything she had although all but the faintest little moan was lost behind the barrier of his hand.

"Well, yeah, I did. I saw her earlier today."

"Yeah, I know that. I just tried to call her a few times and she didn't answer so I thought she might be with you."

"Why do you think she would be with me? I promised you I would keep my distance."

"Oh yeah, well that's not what I'm hearing, so just cut the crap. Serena told me Nicole was in your hotel room today."

"I never said she wasn't. She did stop by."

"And why was Nicole stopping by your hotel room?"

"Damned if I know. Serena was there when she first arrived and the two of them carried on for a bit, then Serena left and before Nicole could even tell me the purpose of her visit, I got called away on some business. She couldn't have been there more than ten minutes."

"Uh-huh. And did you see or talk to her after that?"

"I did, I stopped by her office later to find out why she had stopped by."

"And why was that?"

"Well, she still didn't say but I could see that she was very upset and had been crying. I asked her if she would like to have dinner with me and talk about it, but she said she would just rather be alone. Did the two of you get in another fight or something? I mean, I feel I'm seeing a pattern here. Things are going good between you and she's all about Daniel, then the minute you two bicker she comes running to me. I don't know what to do about her. Part of me wants to slam the door in her face and run the other way because I don't want to be involved, but another part of me wants to be there for her and be the voice of reason. I don't want to see anything come between the two of you, especially not me."

"Yeah, well if that's true then next time she comes knocking on your door don't answer cuz I can guarantee you it's not your advice she's looking for."

"Oh, Daniel, come on. I know you don't mean that. I realize you're angry, but-"

"Hey, I'm just telling it like it is."

"If that's truly how you feel, then what do you care what she does? Why don't you just be the one to end things once and for all?"

"I don't know, man. It's hard to explain. It's like I kinda feel like I've been assigned to be her guardian angel. She's had a pretty rough life and lots of bad experiences with men so I just wanted to show her something positive. It's like she doesn't think she deserves to be with someone like me, you know? Someone who is intelligent, successful, upstanding."

"He forgot conceited," Xander leaned in to whisper into Nicole's ear, chuckling all the while over his own remark.

"Well, look. I assure you she's dome nothing of the kind, at least not with me, so give her the benefit of the doubt. Am I right to assume you were hoping to reconcile?"

"Well, yeah, man. Somebody's gotta take care of her, right? I mean I really do feel like that's why we crossed paths."

"She's very lucky to have you, Daniel," Xander said with a roll to his eyes before peering down at Nicole and mouthing, 'do you hear this jerk?'

Xander heard the familiar beep signaling another incoming call resulting in him cutting his conversation with Daniel short. "I'm sorry, I have an important business call I have to make. Would you care to meet me for coffee in the morning if you're free? Maybe one of us will have heard from her by then and we'll have more to discuss."

"Yeah, as long as you don't mind getting up too early. 6 ok?"

"Perfect. See you then." Xander waited patiently to hear the familar disconnect click before releasing his hand, then pulling the gag from her mouth. "That man is a douche bag," he exclaimed emphatically, pointing in the direction of his phone.

"Oh, and I suppose you're some model citizen," Nicole barked back angrily as she once again resumed fighting her restraints careless if he noticed or not. "At least Daniel doesn't go around kidnapping and tying up defenseless women!"

"Maybe not but he sure has his own way of controlling them."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"What I'm talking about is the way you act around him. You feel like you have to apologize for everything you do or say. Nothing is ever St. Daniel's fault. I mean, can you honestly tell me you didn't find some of the things that he just said in regard to you and your character upsetting?"

"What, you mean implying the only reason I would come see you is to sleep with you?"

"Ah, so it did get to you," he replied with a satisfied smile. "If nothing he said bothered you, you wouldn't know what I was referring to, would you?"

"OK, look, I'm done discussing my life with you. The only thing I want to know is when you intend to let me out of here."

"That depends greatly on how much homework I'm able to get done tonight. Once your babysitters arrive I'm going to go back to the hotel and do some more research, then I'll put a little proposal together for you."

"You're leaving me?"

"Are you disappointed I'm leaving, Nicole," he said as he squatted down to eye level with her, searching her face for the correct answer rather than relying on her words. "Believe me, I'd much rather stay, but I find you far too distracting to allow me to get any work done."

"The only way I'll be disappointed is if you actually make it back." Just as he thought, her words were completely unconvincing.

"Ouch! Is that how you show gratitude to the person who's saving your life?"

"Well I sure hope you don't hold your breath expecting gratitude from me because you're never going to get it. I hate you more than I've ever hated anyone."

A quick series of knocks obviously designed to be some special signal was heard at the door prompting Xander to go and answer without hesitation. Nicole thoroughly examined both the very exotic-looking woman with the long, dark hair and the big and tall bald man and realized that she had seen them both earlier in the day. Xander must have had them follow her. What a damn fool she was to not realize something was up.

"Nicole, I want you to meet Navidad and Angelo. Navidad will help to assist you with bathroom trips, etc., and the two of them will be taking shifts to watch you and make sure you're not trying to escape. Navidad, I want you to see to it that she gets to lay in the bed so she can try to get some sleep. She's going to have a very big day tomorrow."

"You got it," Navidad replied in her typical silky, sultry voice as she grinned seductively at Xander. "You're the boss."

"Angelo, a word with you, please," he said, indicating the meeting was to be in the adjoining bedroom by the nod of his head in that direction.

Nicole strained to hear the hushed whispers coming from the next room and did manage to extract at least one very interesting comment spoken with Xander's familiar accent. It was only the tail end of whatever it was they'd discussed in some length, but his last few strongly spoken words were, 'I know how you are with the ladies, and I swear to god, if you lay a hand on her I will break your fucking neck."

 _How sweet. I have the world's most chivalrous kidnapper,_ Nicole thought as she chuckled to herself. _And most handsome...oh shut up, Nicole!_

"Alright I'm out," Xander announced as he reappeared from the other room and proceeded to head directly for the door, then backtracked to retrieve something from the loveseat."

"I'm taking your purse and cell phone with me in case you're looking for them. Not that you'd be allowed to fiddle with them anyway. I need them for my research."

"Hey Xander. While you're researching, why don't you look up, EAT SHIT AND DIE!"

"That's my girl," he remarked to Navidad with a wink. She's very feisty, this one. oh, and Nicole," he said turning his attention back in her direction before giving her his parting statement paired with a mischievous wink. "If you think you hate me now, just wait until morning. Sweet dreams."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The Next Morning

Xander was smiling wickedly as his car pulled away from the curb outside the coffee shop where he had just met Daniel as promised. He had spent the past half hour listening to the good doc whine about Nicole not calling him back and he had to admit, it was one of the most exhilirating experiences of his life. While Daniel carried on wondering where Nicole was, and what a mistake she would be making to not forgive him, his mind drifted to visions of Nicole bound to the chair back at the cabin. Part of him wished to taunt Daniel with this information. He secretly fantasized about calling him, playing the role of your average, anonymous kidnapper, demanding unreasonable requests to be met in exchange for her release, which of course would never come but, as fun as it would surely be, it wouldn't be nearly as satisfying as watching her dump Daniel for good and move on with him.

Of course it wouldn't all happen overnight and as luck would have it, he was hit with a minor setback which was going to delay his plans even further. Last night, he received a call after arriving back at the hotel informing him that the diamonds that Serena had finally turned in didn't match the original count. When he demanded she meet him in his room at once, she confessed to dropping the bag at Daniel's apartment and conceded it was possible she might have missed some. That was if she wasn't flat-out lying to him and just happened to steal a few for a nice little bonus. Either way, he was done with Serena and her games. Later today, he would summon her to the cabin to officially relieve her of her duties and introduce her to her successor. He just hadn't yet decided if he would warn Nicole in advance that Serena's replacement was her, or if he would just let her be surprised. For now, he would leave it up to fate to decide.

There were more pressing matters to address with Nicole first, and by the time his car pulled up and parked right outside the cabin, he had decided to begin with explaining the terms of what he liked to call his insurance policy. Once she fully understood the consequences of disobeying him in detail, her complete cooperation with all his requests moving forward was as good as guaranteed. He could only hope one day she would realize he was completely full of crap and could find it in her heart to forgive him for what he was about to tell her. He gave a deep sigh while he summoned his strength, then collected the cup of coffee and bag of assorted breakfast items he'd purchased for Nicole and headed inside.

Nicole was once again secured to the dining chair, looking completely defeated and exhausted. Even though he was sure Angelo and Navidad had followed his orders allowing her access to the bed, it couldn't be easy trying to sleep while tied up and worrying about what in the world was going to happen to you.

"Good morning," he said cordially as he pulled his chair closely beside hers and took a seat. "Did you sleep well?"

She scowled at him and replied, "Well, I suppose if I slept at all I could answer your question."

"I'm so sorry to hear you had a rough night," he said soothingly as he reached over and cupped her face in his hand, encouraging her eyes to meeet his. "Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable right now?"

"Yeah. You could get rid of him," she whispered cautiously as she nodded in Angelo's direction. "Can I speak to you, in private?"

"Sure," he replied calmly, refusing to lose his cool until he heard her explanation although he was fairly certain of what he was about to hear. He could see it in her eyes, the way she glanced at Angelo, the haunted expression. Angelo had not kept his word. "You two, outside," he barked at Navidad and Angelo as he appraoched them intimidatingly and shepherded them out the door, slamming it shut behind them. At once, he was before Nicole again, this time on his knees. "What is it, love? What happened while I was gone?"

She bit her lip to keep herself from crying. Well, some very well-acted, theatrical crying anyway. The main reason she hadn't been able to sleep was because her brain had been quite occupied all night preparing for this very moment. For a good part of the previous evening, she had considered herself screwed. She had no luck at all trying to free herself from the cuffs but of course that was because she didn't have the proper tools. Until now. As luck would have it, the cabin's housekeeper had neglected to find and dispose of a bobby pin which laid inconspicuously in the tiny amount of space between the faucet of the bathroom sink and the wall. She had been able to scoop it up and keep it tucked between her fingers until she would be able to cause a distraction and put it to use. It was another reason why she couldn't allow herself to fall asleep since she surely would have dropped the bobby pin for her captors to find the minute she began to drift off. At last, all her sacrifice and devotion was about to pay off.

"Would you please tell your disgusting cronie out there to keep his filthy hands off of me? If you really want to know why I wasn't able to sleep last night, why don't you ask him."

Nicole watched with private amusement as Xander's face instantly turned a lovely shade of crimson and the veins began to bulge from his neck. He was trying to keep calm as he sought to comfort her, but Nicole knew it was only a matter of seconds before he would go flying out the door after Angelo. She almost felt bad for duping him since he seemed to be genuinely concerned. If she hadn't already figured out he was a total psychopath, she might allow herself to believe he actually had a heart.

"Tell me what he did, love."

She gazed up into his compassionate eyes and for a moment completely forgot her plan as she allowed herself to daydream of him taking her into his arms to kiss away her sorrows. The realization of what she was doing and who she was imagining herself with forced her back to her senses. "I'd rather not repeat it. I think you already know."

As predicted, in a fraction of a second he rose to his feet and stormed out the front door. She didn't even wait for him to completely disappear out of sight before she got to work picking the lock. To her delight, she managed to free herself in less than thirty seconds, granting her more precious time in her favor to work at the ties around her ankles which were going to be far more time-consuming to undo. She could hear the commotion outside escalating just about the time she managed to free the first foot. Already Navidad's voice could be heard coming to Angelo's defense. Time was running short. She found herself continuously glancing at the door as she frantically worked her fingers through the last knot, managing to completely free herself just in time. She could hear footsteps coming up the front steps. She bolted into the bedroom where she threw open the window and immediately hopped out, neglecting to give herself time to consider it probably would have been a good idea to remove her high-heeled shoes before doing so.

"God dammit," she could hear Xander's voice soaring through the open window about the same time she exclaimed exactly the same thing in reaction to her grossly twisted ankle. Fantastic. Xander was already onto her and now she could hardly walk let alone run, but it didn't stop her from trying. She didn't get very far. Although she didn't look back to see, Xander must have come straight through the window after her since he managed to catch up with her in no time. He promptly scooped her up, kicking and protesting, and threw her over his shoulder to carry her back inside, cussing her furiously all the way.

"DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN," he screamed from barely an inch away from her face after throwing her into the upholstered armchair of the cabin's living room area, pinning her body beneath his. "Clearly you still do not realize the seriousness of your situation,'" he continued, making an obvious effort to tone it down a bit after his previous outburst. "The deal is everyone remains safe as long as you cooperate. You make one more mistake like that and the consequences will be deadly. Do I make myself clear?"

"God, Ok, yes," she replied, trying to sink further back into the cusion underneath her for protection. For the first time, she was truly fearful of him. His powerful voice shook not only every wall in the house when he shouted, but every bone in her body as well.

"I'm going to back away now, and you're not going to move a muscle, or else. Do you understand?"

She could only manage to nod affirmatively which apparently was a good enough response since he kept his promise and proceeded to back away, though he didn't wander off very far. He began to pace the floor in front of her as he withdrew something from his pocket; her cell phone.

"You know, I was afraid something like this would happen," he said with his eyes fixated on the screen of her phone as he sought to retrieve some source of information from it. "I already know from experience that you can't be trusted just yet, and I'm not sure protecting Eric is enough motivation to keep you from doing something stupid. Of course I believe you don't want to see any harm come to him, but deep down inside you must know he's really not worth all the trouble. Besides, he's an adult and can take measures to protect himself. Am I making sense so far?"

Again, nodding was all she could do to respond. She didn't like the direction this was heading in at all.

"I'm sure you know from experience, there is no better way to get to someone than to target their family. I do see that you keep in touch with your brother Brandon quite regularly, but you see, he kind of falls into the same category as Eric. It is a well known fact that children are the most-used tool in controlling someone but, since you have none I found myself in a bit of a quandry. Until I found this, anyway." He tapped the screen and turned the phone toward her, but before she could even see what he desired to show her, she could hear Sydney's little voice saying, "I love you, mommy Nicole."

It was the video of the kids thanking her for their gifts that EJ had recorded for her the Christmas after their last break-up. She immediately began to sob, realizing that he had done it. Xander had won this round at least.

"You really are a sick bastard."

"Oh yeah, well you really are a major pain in my ass. Maybe next time you'll think twice about sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

"You know, you're even worse than a bastard. You're a pathetic fucking coward if you would even dream of hurting a child to get whatever stupid, insignificant little thing it is that you want. I swear to god, if EJ were still alive, you'd be a dead man."

Of course he was neither a bastard or a coward as he saw it. He would never in a million years hurt that little girl, or anyone that Nicole loved for that matter. Right now, his plan was thriving only on the fact that Nicole still really didn't know him from Adam and couldn't see through his seemingly sinister facade, and was totally unaware that he was falling for her madly. "Even if that were true, EJ would never find out because you would be forbidden to contact him, or else. Remember, I don't work alone Nicole. I already have people assigned to watch little Sydney 24/7. As a matter of fact," he began, retrieving his own cell phone from his pocket this time and with a few swipes of his fingers across the screen, he pulled up an image for her to view. It was the picture he'd assigned his California contact to take which he knew would be the final nail in the coffin securing Nicole's cooperation. "You've got to see this pic right here. She looks just like a little angel, don't you think?"

Nicole grabbed his phone with hands trembling so violently she could hardly focus on the picture on the screen. The shot was a little bit dark, but she could still easily identify the child as unmistakably Sydney, sleeping away innocently in her bed. "Where did you get this?"

"From my people who are watching her Nicole. Getting this nice little snapshot for you was their first assignment. Later on when she wakes up and goes to school, I'll have plenty more to show you. That's more than Sami Brady is willing to share with you."

"OK, Xander. You win. What is it you want me to do?"

"Well there are several things that I want you to do. We'll start out by making some phone calls today. You'll need to contact Miles and tell him you're taking a few days off, the same goes for Daniel. You're going to call him and tell him you just needed some time away to think."

"Fine. I'll say whatever you want me to say, just give me my phone."

"It can wait a few. There's something more important we must address first."

"What now," she replied rolling her eyes as he dropped to one knee before her. With a most gentle touch, he lifted her left ankle and rested it on his raised knee. "Now that is what a twisted ankle should look like. Come on now, tell me when it hurts, for real."

"Owww, OWWWW," she wailed in authentic pain in response to just about every area he touched.

"Yeah, this one looks pretty bad. Can I trust to leave you while I go get some ice? No more running away or snooping around on cell phones for you, got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," she replied defiantly, followed by a pout as she crossed her arms over her chest protectively. "Asshole," she mumbled quietly to herself after he disappeared from the room. Did he really think she was going to start to feel all warm and fuzzy inside now that he went from Jekyl to Hyde, or from whichever one of the fictitious duo was completely crazy to the one who was sane. When he returned from the kitchen with a giant plastic ziploc full of ice, he asked her to hold it while he aided in escorting her from the chair to the couch where he coaxed her into laying down so that he could slip a couple of the decorative pillows beneath her ankle to keep it elevated before he began to apply the ice.

From then on it was something of a replay from her previous day's encounter with him in his hotel room. She became entranced as she watched him massage her leg for comfort while his other kept pressure on the bag of ice to keep it in place. She was so distracted that he'd had to repeat a question twice to her before she realized what she was being asked.

"Earth to Nicole: does that feel better?"

"Yeah, Yes, it does. Thank you."

"You're welcome. If there is anything else I can do, I can get you, to make you feel better, please let me know."

"I suppose you could do one thing for me. I just want to know why. Why are you doing this, Xander. What in the world is it you want from me?"

"Do you really not know the answer to that question, Nicole or are you just pretending you don't. I thought I've been making myself quite obvious but if you need to hear it straight from my lips," with this remark, he slid up toward her head and leaned his face in closely, once again placing his lips in close proximity to hers, never breaking his gaze into her eyes as he spoke. "The answer to your question is, you. I want you, Nicole. I hope you like weddings because, surprise! You, my dear are going to be my bride very soon."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Woa whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute. Back up there, Hercules," Nicole exclaimed as she leaned forward and began swatting Xander's hands away from being anywhere near her body. "It sounded like you just said you expect me to marry you."

"That's right, you heard correctly," he responded indifferently as he fought for the right to at least keep applying the ice to her ankle. "I thought you just assured me you would cooperate. You do realize the conditions of your release are non-negotiable."

"Oh yeah, well if I remember correctly you also assured me that I would have my freedom. Being forced to marry someone I despise isn't my idea of being free."

"Nicole, your meddling resulted in me having to do some serious damage control and by promising to keep you and Eric safe, I'm putting my own neck on the line. If anything should go wrong from here on out it'll be me who pays the piper first. Without me to protect you, they'd get to you and Eric eventually. Serena too of course, not that you would care. I think a little compensation for my efforts is well-deserved."

"Awww, what's the matter Xander? Are women not lining up on your doorstep these days, or do they just ditch you after discovering you have a scorching case of herpes, or simply because you just can't keep it up?"

"None of the above, I'm pleased to report," he responded matter-of-factly, completely unaffected by her attempt to degrade him. "That said, I regret to inform you my expectations for our future together are not fueled by feelings of love, or lust even, even though I do truly stand by the statement that you are the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on and I find you frustratingly irresistable."

Nicole rolled her eyes to show her disapproval, but she could do nothing to stop the color flushing her cheeks from contradicting the gesture. "So what, you're just hell-bent on making my life miserable because you felt compelled to save me?"

"No, it's not your life I want to make miserable. It's Daniel's."

Nicole closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. So that was it. All the flattery, dinner invites, phone calls, and suprise visits to her office to 'check on her' had been nothing more than repeated attempts to get under Daniel's skin. Not that she was bothered by the fact that he wasn't interested in her because she certainly wasn't interested in him. Granted there were times when she found herself awkwardly staring at him, and maybe even daydreamed about kissing or making out with him on occasion, but hey...she could admit that he was a very handsome man whom she found to be most charming, prior to yesterday at least, without it having to mean that she wanted to be with him. She was in love with Daniel. Women fantasize about heated encounters with sexy celebrities all the time. Her daydreams of Xander meant nothing. Absolutely N-O-T-H-I-N-G nothing!

Poor Daniel. She wondered what in the world he'd ever done to Xander to make himself the target of his dastardly doings. This thought prompted to her to formally propose the question. "Why in the world would you want to do something so hurtful to Daniel? Whatever happened to your family meaning the world to you?"

"Ah-ha, you used a very key word in your question my dear. My family does mean the world to me but, DANIEL FUCKING JONAS IS NOT MY BLOODY FAMILY!"

Nicole flinched and began to inch herself as far as possible away from an infuriated Xander who was physically taking out his frustrations by pounding his fist into the sofa's backrest while shouting like a raving lunatic. "Xander, he's nothing but an embarrassment. A dirtly little secret Uncle Victor would rather keep swept under the rug, so much so that it was highly suggested he change his last name. Ol' Danny-boy on the other hand is uncle Victor's pride and joy. He puts that pompous little bastard before his own flesh and blood."

"Yes, I'm sure Victor's preference to Daniel over you has nothing to do with the fact that he is actually a decent human being and you are nothing but a sadistic, selfish, jealous-"

She was cut short in completing her character analysis of him by the cell phone which came flying toward her. She instinctively reached out to catch it and upon her inspection, realized it was her own.

"Call him," Xander demanded through gritted teeth as he attempted to get his anger back under control. "But first let me tell you exactly how this is going to go. You're going to tell him you were very upset by his behavior yesterday, and you wanted some time away to think. Don't make any promises to come home for a few more days. I need your undivided attention here so we can go over some things. If he apologizes and tells you he wants to make things work you're to sound hopeful. As much as I'd love for you to break it off with him straight away, I'm afraid I need you to string him along just a bit longer. I want you to say you'll forgive him and give him another chance."

Nicole shook her head frustratedly. "Why? Why would you do that, so you can toy with him even more?"

"Well, I admit that will be an enjoyable little bonus, but revenge is not the motivation here. I need you to be able to gain access to his apartment without suspicion. There's a little mission I need you to accomplish."

"Mission? What kind of mission?"

Xander used her sudden interest in the subject matter as an opportunity to work his hands back on her. She seemed to momentarily consider objecting but when no words of protest actually came through, his fingers continued to work their magic on her sore leg while he explained her assignment. "Serena finally managed to get the diamonds from the elephant statue while she was in Daniel's apartment and apparently, in attempt to keep me at arm's length until she was sure she was going to receive her cut, she stashed them away in the fireplace at Daniel's place for safe keeping."

"The diamonds were there at Daniel's the whole time?"

"Yes. As long as the statue was there anyway. So, to make a long story short, when she finally decided to hand them over, she ended up dropping the bag in his apartment not only once, but twice, apparently while tangling with you, and while she was scrambling to just get the hell out of there, she missed some. Eight to be exact. Might not sound like much now, but when each one is worth a substantial amount of money, it certainly adds up. You, my dear, have to find those missing diamonds."

"Oh, right, cuz no one notices a few random diamonds just scattered around on the floor."

"They might not be on the floor. Serena mentioned dropping the bag on the couch so most likely they've fallen beneath the cushions. It might be a piece of cake or you might have to perform a thorough sweep of the entire place. Either way, you're not off the hook until I have every single one of those diamonds back in my possession."

"Are you kidding me? What if I can't find them all, then what? Don't you think it's possible at least one or two if not all of them were swept up unnoticed and discarded?"

"Yes, it is very possible, but let's hope that's not the case. It'll be much easier for you to get them back from Daniel than it would be for you to steal them from a perfect stranger, which is what we'll be forced to do unless we want to end up being killed."

Nicole shook her head for clarity. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You expect me to help you cover your ass by stealing diamonds from a complete stranger?"

"They're only diamonds, love. How much harder can it be to steal diamonds than it is to steal a baby? Here's your answer: it's not. But let's not jump too far ahead. I'm sure you'll find them all in the apartment."

"so how is this going to work? Am I on some time limit as far as Daniel's place goes?"

"Let me put it to you this way: it'll be in your best interest to get the job done ASAP. And don't even think about stalling so you can earn yourself some extra time with Daniel before you're forced to break it off. I'll be giving you cameras to set up so that I can keep an eye on you while you're there and you'll be wired for sound so needless to say, any thoughts about getting intimate with Daniel in any way while you're there are out of the question. You are to explain you want to move ahead with caution and that you think the two of you should take it slowly. I mean it, Nicole. I don't want to see any hanky-panky whatsoever going on between the two of you. You're mine now."

Nicole found herself panting as she tried to wrap her brain around the idea of being stuck with Xander Cook for the remainder of her natural-born life. Was this physical reaction simply a symptom of shock brought upon by the chain of traumatizing events which had taken place during the last twelve hours or so? If that were true, then why was it now being paired with a physical sensation she had long ago forgotten even existed? Certainly there had to be some sort of medical explanation linking that reaction to shock as well. There was certainly nothing at all desirable about Xander other than his pretty face and accent, and there was nothing appealing about the idea of being his wife and apparently, partner in crime. At least that's what her mind tried to convince her. The throbbing between her legs begged to tell a different story entirely...one that for now she declined to listen to.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Daniel, hey, it's me," Nicole cooed softly into her phone while under Xander's close supervision, obediently maintaining eye contact with him as he sat by her side on the sofa, where she still laid with her bruised and swollen ankle propped up on pillows, for the duration of the conversation to follow per his insistence. His explanation to her for his request was simply that it would be difficult for her to say the wrong thing knowing he was carefully screening every word but, privately, he was more interested in studying her facial expressions and body language in reaction to her exchanges with Daniel. He knew he wouldn't get the truth about her feelings for Daniel straight from her lips so he was left to rely on what he could determine visually, and already he was seeing multiple signs confirming what he already knew; she most definitely was not in love with Daniel. Convincing her that was the case however he was sure would prove to be something of a challenge.

"Oh, well, yeah...sure. You can call me back when you have the time. Are you at work?"

Xander found himself struggling to refrain from shaking his head in disgust. Although he could hear Daniel's reply loud and clear, the look of disappointment and rejection in Nicole's eyes would have been all he needed to see in order to get the gist of what was said if he hadn't been privy to the conversation.

"He's going to call me back," Nicole explained with an obviously forced smile as she tossed the phone onto her lap, prompting Xander to pick it up for a quick study to make sure the call had been terminated and no recording applications had been activated before turning his full attention back to her. He could see she was desperately trying to hold back tears. The constant sniffling and swallowing and the redness around both her eyes and the tips of her nose was a dead giveaway.

"Oh, why is that? Was he about to perform a surgery?" Of course Xander had heard Daniel say he was speaking with Jennifer Horton. He just wanted to see Nicole's reaction when forced to repeat it.

"No, he, was talking to Jennifer. I don't know if you know this but the two of them have a history together, and I hear she's going through some stuff right now so, you know...they're still good friends."

"I see. So tell me, who is there for you while you're going through your stuff when Daniel is busy tending to others?"

"Excuse me," she replied with obvious disgust in both her voice and expression. "Don't you dare presume to know the parameters of my relationship with Daniel just because we're going through a bit of a rough patch right now!"

"You're right," Xander conceded, shrugging his shoulders in defeat. "That was totally unfair of me to assume that this has been an ongoing issue with you two. So enlighten me. Tell me what it was like when your relationship was good."

Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him as if trying to pinpoint the precise spot on his face she would trigger the laser beams to come shooting from them. "My relationship with Daniel is none of your business. Besides, if it's all going to be over soon anyway, what difference does it make?"

"You still don't get it, do you,' he said, reaching out to cup her chin in his right hand so he could gently redirect her focus back on his eyes. "You are going to be my wife whether you like it or not, so that makes every little thing concerning you my business, my dear. Besides, I already know the real reason you won't answer my question is because you don't have a suitable answer. Not one that wouldn't be a lie anyway."

Nicole could feel her blood boiling. Boy, he certainly believed he knew it all, didn't he? She intended to give him a piece of her mind and show Xander the Great that he couldn't be more wrong. Trouble was, she couldn't really recall the last time that Daniel had made her truly happy. Even worse for her case, she really couldn't remember the first time either. Surely stress had to be the culprit here. Daniel had always been nothing but good to her. He was a good person.

"I'm waiting..."

She was under pressure to come up with something, anything even remotely close to an acceptable answer, and ended up blurting out the first thing that came to mind. "Well, just the other day he showed up at my office with flowers to apologize for being such a jerk during one of our fights." She smiled upon hearing herself recall the happy moment aloud. It had been a gesture on Daniel's behalf which had both truly surprised and delighted her.

"Alright then, let me ask you this: When was the last time he brought you flowers, or did something special for you, with no other motive than just to make you smile?"

She suddenly felt fresh, warm tears cascading down her cheeks without receiving any prior warning signals that they were coming whatsoever. Were her tears a reaction to being forced to acknowledge a difficult truth about Daniel, or was it because Xander's question prompted her think about the last person who had regularly gone out of his way to make her happy, at least when he wasn't making her completely miserable instead: EJ. She missed him terribly; much more than she would ever dare to admit to anyone. She hated being the object of everyone's pity when it came to her ex-husband. _Poor Nicole. She gave that man her heart and soul only to be cheated on and humiliated by him over and over again. Maybe it was a blessing they didn't have children together._ Yep, those were actual comments she'd overheard here and there through the years, and all from the very people she considered to be her closest friends.

Thinking of her babies again didn't help her situation at all. What was before just silent tears trickling down her face now became full-blown hysterical sobbing which prompted Xander to do something he'd been very careful to avoid until now. He put his arms around her and pulled her to his chest, coaxing her to lay her head on his shoulder. He was nervous about how she would react to the gesture but really he knew of no other way to respond. When you see someone you love in pain, you just instinctively seek to comfort them, right? Wait, did he just say love? Strike that; love wasn't the right word. Xander Kriakis didn't love people aside from a very few select blood relatives, especially not women. Not after the first one he'd dared to love, when he was young and foolish and truly believed such a thing existed. He did care about Nicole though. They had a lot in common. The two of them were a nearly identical pair of lost, deeply wounded souls desperately seeking their purpose in life which was precisely why they were going to make quite the team.

"I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to make you cry."

His voice was every bit as soft and soothing as his hand which was rubbing her back for comfort and although for a moment she entertained the idea of the two of them remaining just like that for the remainder of the day, neither one of them could have been more relieved than the other when her cell began to ring signaling an incoming call from Daniel. Xander finally had something else to concern himself with than pondering the meaning of life and love, and Nicole had an excuse to avoid answering his question and also break free from the embrace she'd rather not admit she was enjoying, or was at least grateful for. It had been so nice to feel a man's comforting embrace again that she hadn't even cared it was Xander.

"Daniel, hi," she said into the phone as her free hand busily blotted away the last remnants of tears with the handkerchief Xander handed over. "I was hoping you wouldn't take too long. I miss you."

"Yeah, I miss you too, Nic. Where are you? I stopped by your office this morning since I couldn't get you on the phone and Miles told me that you didn't show up. Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, studying Xander's eyes intently as she spoke. "I just thought it might be a good idea for me to stay away for a few days. Give us both some time to calm down and think."

"I'm sorry I blew up at you like that. It's just that when I heard you were with Xander...let's just say Serena filled me in on the type of guy that he is."

"Daniel, I told you. There is absolutely nothing going on between me and Xander. Believe me, he's not my type."

She smiled with satisfaction upon seeing Xander's reaction to her comment. While before he had been grinning ear with a mischevious twinkle in his eye, now he was pouting like a toddler who had just been issued a time-out from a stern parent.

"Are you sure about that, Nic?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she barked back into the phone, her voice full of obvious annoyance. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it except that I really can't ignore the fact that he reminds me an awful lot of EJ."

"Yeah, well believe me, the last thing I need in my life is another EJ. What I really need is someone who will love me, and take care of me, and I really want that person to be you."

"Me too. And for the record, I just want to say this before I say something else stupid I'll regret. I love you, Nicole."

She didn't even have a moment to react to the words she'd waited seemingly forever to hear. Before she could even allow herself to think how she would answer Daniel, Xander's lips were on hers. She immediately sought to protest, but with a hand to the back of her had holding her firmly where he wanted her, she couldn't do so without making a scene which might alert Daniel that something fishy was going on.

"Nic, are you there," She heard Daniel's voice buzzing through the phone which was resting in the hand now laying on her lap.

"Tell him you'll call him back," Xander pulled away just long enough to whisper breathily in her ear. "Let him know something suddenly came up."

"Nicole?"

"Daniel, hey I'm sorry," she began to gush apologetically while Xander's lips unexpectedly began to nibble at her free ear. "This phone has been acting up. I didn't hear a word of what you just said. I'm going to have to call you back."

"Nicole, wait-"

"I'm sorry, Daniel. I really have to give Miles a quick call too to let him know I won't be in for a few days. I'll call you back ASAP, ok?"

She didn't wait for him to answer before terminating the call. Yes, something most certainly did come up, and now she could finally address it since Daniel was no longer a concern. She took her phone and threw it with all her might into Xander's chest, then proceeded to start pounding her fists into that same target. "Don't you ever, EVER, touch me like that again!"

"Oh, come on, love. Don't make me make promises you don't want me to keep," he said, chuckling with amusement as he grabbed a hold of each one of her wrists in attempt to tame her wild outburst. "You have to admit that was pretty fun."

"Fun? Torturing Daniel may be your idea of fun, but it's not mine!"

"How am I torturing Daniel if he doesn't have a clue as to what's going on? I did that for you, my dear. You can't tell me you didn't find that at least the tiniest bit exciting, and I dare you to look me in the eye and tell me that a part of you didn't thoroughly enjoy sticking it to Daniel for hitting the snooze button as far as your 'relationship,' he emphasized using the gesture for air quotes, "is concerned."

"How about you stop telling me how I feel and listen to me for once! No, I did not enjoy that one bit, but I can see that you did," she replied, glancing in the direction of the protruding lump in his pants. "You are truly disgusting."

"Oh yeah, well you're a liar, and a bad one at that. At least when it comes to sharing your feelings. I did you a favor by letting you off the hook with Daniel. Remove me from the situation and tell me just how you planned to respond to his revelation that he loves you?"

"I would have told him I love him right back, and I probably would have cried. I've been wanting to hear him say that for so long."

"You wanted to hear Daniel say it, because in your eyes Daniel is the epitome of everything your dream man should be, or simply because you just wanted to hear someone, anyone, say those words you've been longing to hear?"

He could tell his words had stung her but, in predictable fashion, she swallowed back the lump in her throat and held her head high as she continued to bullshit her way through his inquisition, giving answers that she wanted to hear because somehow saying them out loud seemed to lend more validity to the lies. He knew exactly what she was doing because he would do precisely the same thing, especially when it came to discussing his feelings. And as it turned out, he was given the opportunity to demonstrate when she suddenly turned the tables and put him on the spot.

"Who am I supposed to be in love with Xander, you? Is that what you want?"

He swallowed back the lump in his own throat and scrambled to put together some kind of believable answer as long as it wasn't the truth. "No, of course not," he replied with a snicker, shaking his head in adamant denial. "I already told you why I'm doing this. Daniel needs to pay for what he has taken from me."

"Oh yeah, well I think you're a liar, and a bad one at that," she said with a knowing smile as she used the line he'd given her before and turned it on him. "Remove Daniel from the situation and tell me that there isn't a part of you that just wants to be with me."

His heart was racing in his chest as he stared down into her hopeful eyes, even though she would have argued that her look was anything but in regards to a future with him. He desired her, yes and a good portion of his demand that she marry him was truly driven by his wish to seek revenge on Daniel. But then there was that other thing: remove Daniel from the situation, and he still entertained the idea of spending the rest of his life with her. Of course he had already begun way before he even knew she was Daniel's girl.

It had been a long time since he'd felt that way about anyone. After Arianne had managed to smash his heart into a billion pieces, he swore he'd never put himself in a position to be hurt like that again by anyone. He had managed to do just fine by himself the past fifteen years or so that had gone by since, never once even considering the prospect of anything even remotely long-term with any one of his many conquests. There really was no need for him to settle down, especially considering Arianne had also managed to squash any desire to try and do the family thing again. But that was all before Nicole. Until she came into his life, he had forgotten what it had felt like to feel the thumping of his heart in his chest, triggered solely by the excitement of being in her presence or even just thinking about her, which he did nearly non-stop. And this scared the hell out of him. In typical Xander fashion, he found himself deflecting her intrusive question by finding the most hurtful thing it was he could possibly say.

"what? You think if I could have anyone in the world I'd choose the likes of a retired porn star incapable of bearing children? Don't flatter yourself, love. This is business, that's all, you should be happy to know."

He hopped up off the couch and ran toward the kitchen to pour himself a drink, not daring to look back. He couldn't bear to see what kind of a reaction his words surely had on her but, if he had he might be surprised. Nicole, although slightly stung by his purposely crafted verbal attack, knew very well the place where his words were coming from and instead of taking pity on herself for being his pin cushion, she began to wonder who this bitch was that had hurt him, and what in the world did she do to make Xander Kiriakis the basket case that he was.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Nicole found herself jumping up into a sitting position on the couch where she had been getting some much-needed rest in response to the noisy ruckus going on around her. Before she could evaluate with her still-sleepy eyes, she imagined Xander was having some heated words with either Angelo, Navidad, or both but after giving her eyes time to adjust and the usual post-sleep fog to clear, she discovered there was nobody else in the place aside from herself and her raving lunatic of a captor. He was pacing the path leading from the front door and through the living space into the kitchen area, cussing some unknown person or persons while his arms swung out to send whatever movable objects he could find flying across the room. Nicole found herself pulling the blanket that Xander must have placed over her up around her chin as she backed herself into the corner of the couch for security.

"What's your problem," she said having to shout herself in order to be heard over his roaring voice.

Her unexpected interjection startled him, causing an immediate disruption to his little temper tantrum for which he seemed to be quite embarrassed of. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you but I guess it's just as well." He paused as he took several deep breaths in an obvious effort to keep his anger in check. "It seems I'm being forced to make a change of plans."

"Is that good or bad for me?"

"Well I guess that all depends on how quickly you find those diamonds, love. I need you to get into Daniel's apartment tonight."

"Tonight? So much for my extensive training. Employers these days, I'm tellin' ya..."

"Well if it hadn't been for you and your little escape attempt we wouldn't be in this mess. Come to think of it, I wouldn't be in any of this mess if it weren't for you."

"Aww, come on Xander. You seem like the kind of guy who enjoys a challenge. What's going on?"

He began to pace again. "What's going on is that Navidad and Angelo were so shaken by your little stunt that they went over my head and put a call in to the big guy. They think I'm out of my mind for involving you and they want you out of the picture for good. You do understand what I mean when I say 'for good?" Although she nodded understandingly in response, he continued to elaborate just to be clear. "They want you dead, Nicole. I just spent the last hour on the phone begging Lucius to reconsider. To give you some idea of how serious this is, in the ten years I've been running this little operation, I've only spoken directly to Lucius once, and that was when he shook my hand and put his faith in me to do the job. In ten years I've never had to explain a single one of my decisions or mistakes to him until now. Lucky for you he still trusts I know what I'm doing enough to pardon you for now, but he is about at the end of his rope so he issued us a little warning." He took a seat along side her and hovered over her, forcing her to sink back even further into the couch as she scrambled to maintain a comfortable distance between them. When there wasn't a fraction of an inch of landscape left for her to gain in her favor, his entire upper body found itself resting on top of hers. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and used it as a guide to position her head right where he wanted it: face to face with his. "You only have three days to get those diamonds. If you don't, it will be curtains for the both of us. And remember, if something happens to me, my people in LA have their orders what to do with Sydney."

She studied his eyes carefully while the rest of her body was left to tremble in distress. If he had wished to intimidate her it was working, but she could see in his eyes that there was much more to it than that. He looked desperate, frightened, all which led her to believe it wasn't merely some scare tactic to get her to cooperate. It might just be one of those rare moments where Xander Kiriakis was actually telling the truth.

"What do you want me to do," she asked, expressing a genuine, task-focused willingness to help.

For a moment she could have sworn he was about to kiss her and she found herself surprisingly disappointed when he instead removed his body from hers and slid down the other end of the couch to take a seat by her feet. "Well, first thing's first," he began, taking on an air that was all-business as he began to gently poke and squeeze at her ankle. When she reacted by grimacing in pain, he opted t skip his intended question asking if it still hurt. "Yeah, this looks like it's a pretty bad sprain. Let's see what happens when you put some weight on it. Come on."

He helped her to her feet, keeping a strong, steady arm around her waist while she attempted to take a step. When she nearly fell to her knees in attempt to spare herself the agony brought on by putting pressure on her foot, he provided instant relief by sweeping her completely off her feet and into his arms, forcing her to throw her arms around his neck instinctively. Again, she felt her heart beginning to race as it seemed almost inevitable that they would kiss but it was Xander again who spared them both from doing something they would regret by speaking. "I was afraid of that. You only made it worse trying to run. It's straight to the ER for you."

"No, no don't be silly. Just bandage me up and I'm good to go."

"No, you are not 'good to go,' it could be more serious than I thought. You'll be lucky if it's just a sprain. Either way, you'll need crutches or something because you can't walk on it and I can't exactly carry you around everywhere you need to go."

"So, just drop me off at home then and I'll call Daniel and tell him I twisted it there. He can-" She declined to finish her idea upon seeing the look of sheer disapproval on his face.

"You have no idea how much it irks me that I have no choice but to let you see Daniel for now, especially considering he'll be fawning all over you. Knowing him, he'll throw you in the hospital and call in every specialist from here to Timbuktu to give their opinion. We don't have time for that. I'm taking you to the hospital here, and that's final."

"Yes, Sir," she replied emphatically as she withdrew one of her hands away from his neck to salute him.

"Now that's more like it."

Her heart was throbbing, as were other unanticipated parts of her body, again, this time brought on by the impish twinkling in his eyes that accompanied his response to what was only intended to be a sarcastic remark on her part. He was a psycho, and his reaction was alarming her, that was all there was to it. It couldn't be anything else. He'd kidnapped her; had at least considered killing her at one point; had made very real threats to kill people that she cared about; was forcing her to do his dirty work, and eventually would make her marry him just to torture his sworn enemy. How could her feelings be anything more than a result of fear and loathing. _Because deep down inside, you know he's full of shit. Oh, shut up, Nicole._

"Don't get any ideas there, Christian, it was just a joke."

"Suit yourself. I thought it sounded like you were ready to have some fun with this but, if you're determined to be miserable for the duration of our time together, that's up to you."

"You are so strange," she said, shaking her head in a display of confusion. "I never know which personality I'm gonna get when talking to you."

"Interesting. Maybe we should look into other means of communicating."

Her heart was now beating with an intensity that under normal circumstances might prompt her to take a trip to the emergency room to get checked out but since she'd experienced this feeling before under similar conditions, she knew there was no need for alarm. His eyes were begging her to kiss him and her heart was only trying to will her to give in with all it's might.

"Go on, do it," he dared her seductively as he inched his lips closer to hers, making them more available for the taking. "You know you want to."

He closed his eyes, certain he was soon about to get his wish. What he got instead was a nice, hard smack across his face. "Put me down," she demanded sternly, although he didn't quite seem to take the hint that she was serious.

"You want to talk about multiple personalities, Sybil? One minute you're about to kiss me and the next thing I know, I'm getting slapped. Lucky for you I like one just as much as the other."

"Xander, I mean it, put me down! Xander!"

"I can't put you down, we have to get going. You gonna hop all the way to the car on one foot?"

"I'll crawl if I have to. Just get your bloody hands off of me."

"Aww, isn't that cute. We're already starting to talk like one another. People will say we're in love."

She went to slap him again, prompting him to throw her over his shoulder as opposed to the cross-body position in order to avoid any future attacks. "You can slap me all you want later if you like but let's call it quits for now, shall we?"

"Xander," she screamed as her fists pounded away at his back, much as they'd done earlier in the day when he'd scooped her up while she'd tried to escape. This time however, she found that her cries were paired with something else that hadn't been present before: laughter. Once she realized what she was doing she was able to terminate the process, but not before putting a satisfied grin on the face of Xander Kiriakis.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Now remember, no kissing, no touching, or fondling one another," Xander warned Nicole sternly as he pulled her car up to the curb outside of Daniel's apartment building and put it in park. "You set those cameras up as soon as possible and if I see something I don't like, I will be texting you. I fixed it so that I will come up as Brandon on your phone and when I text you, it will appear as if I'm just trying to have a normal conversation. Just know every time you get a text it means you're doing or saying something I don't like and you better put an end to it fast. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," she replied with just barely more than a whisper as she stared wistfully up at the third floor window she knew belonged to Daniel's place.

"I'm monitoring both your phone and Daniel's so don't even think of trying to reach out to someone. That would be a very, very costly mistake. Do I need to show you the latest installment of pictures of sweet little Sydney to remind you?"

She shifted her gaze from the window to his face and shot him a look of sheer disgust. "I GOT IT, ALRIGHT," she seethed through gritted teeth, fighting the urge to slap him once more.

"Good. Now that that's settled, I have a little something for you."

She furrowed her eyebrows, studying him curiously as he reached into an inner jacket pocket and withdrew a small, blue velvet-covered jewelry box and handed it to her.

"What's this," she inquired, suddenly feeling every nerve ending in her body come alive as she pondered the possibility that it could be her 'engagement ring.'

"Well open it and see for yourself!"

He smiled watching her attempt to conceal what he would swear was disappointment upon revealing the small, diamond pendant inside.

"This is your audio, love," he explained as he helped her to remove the necklace from the box, then performed the task of fastening it around her neck. His hands lingered at her shoulders, resisting the urge to further explore the exposed area of silky, flawless skin on her back. He desperately wanted to trace every square inch with his fingertips, leaving trails behind for his kisses to follow. At least that was how he would begin. If he knew for a fact she'd have him he'd love nothing more than to explore, then ravage every part of her body right there in the car outside Daniel's place. The thought of his rival catching them in the act excited him immensely and although he was forced to suppress his urges for the time being, he vowed then and there to one day make his little fantasy a reality.

"I see you frequent the same jewelry store as EJ. If you need me to wear a bracelet with a built-in tracking device don't waste your money. I already have one you can use."

"Now see, your ex-husband sounds like a smart man. I guess it's a good thing for me he's six feet under, or I might have some real competition."

"Competition for what? The Asshole of the Century award? I'll just name you the winner right now."

"You can't fool me, Nicole Walker," he said as his face unexpectedly began inching toward hers. "Do you really expect me to believe you've fallen head over heels in love with a man like Daniel Jonas?"

Her head hit the back of the seat, abruptly putting an end to any means of putting more distance between them. She found herself unable to take her eyes off his although her brain pleaded with her to look away. He did have the most amazing, entrancing eyes she'd ever gazed into, so it was hardly her fault she couldn't avoid peering into them.

"Why do you have such a hard time believing that I love Daniel?"

"The only thing that you love about Daniel is that he is the polar opposite of the man that broke your heart. You don't ever want to be hurt the way that EJ hurt you again, so what do you do? You go out and throw yourself at someone you're completely incapable of truly loving because, that way, if it all falls apart it won't hurt as much."

 _He's right, Nicole. No, no he's not. Shut up you!_ she heard her two battling inner voices argue, As usual, she took the side of the one who'd always done nothing but try to protect her. "That's ridiculous. Did you ever consider that maybe I just finally woke up and realized I deserve better?"

"You do deserve better than EJ DiMera, there's no argument there. I've seen the woman he allowed to ruin your relationship, and it's obvious the man is a complete idiot. What I'm saying is that you're purposely avoiding the type of man that you could really find yourself falling in love with."

"And how do you know this, Xander? Is that what you do?" She watched the twinkle in his eyes disappear in a flash and to her relief, he began to finally back away. She wasn't sure she had enough strength to stop him this time if he dared to move in for a kiss.

"You better get going. The longer we sit out here the more risk there is that Daniel might see us together."

"Well now I know how to get rid of you when I'm growing tired of the conversation. Just ask Xander about his love life."

He ignored her last comment and hopped out of the car to assist her with getting to her feet and onto the crutches the hospital provided her with to assist with walking while her sprained ankle healed. His intention was to walk her as far as the door; it would be the last obstacle she would face before her journey became obstacle-free. He was prepared to turn around and leave when she began to carry on her way without any departing words, but then she suddenly turned around to leave him with a few thoughts to chew on before she could reach the elevator.

"You know, for your information, I was nearly about to give up on Daniel. I know he has feelings for me, but he just couldn't bring himself to admit that he loves me. Well, until now. I can be a very patient person, you know...but I won't wait around forever."

He shut his eyes, squeezing them tightly in order to avoid her unwelcome, intrusive glare. "Stop talking and get going," he barked at her angrily, stepping ahead of her to mash the 'up' button on the elevator to help speed up her progress.

"Ah, I see. I'm pushing your buttons so now you feel the need to push mine." She couldn't help but smile watching him grow further agitated, and she began to chuckle devilishly when he actually scooped her up off her feet to place her into the now open elevator waiting to take her upstairs.

He could hear her still laughing as the doors closed between them and began to lift her upstairs where she would go and find Daniel who was sure to be gushing all over her for the duration of the days to follow, proclaiming his undying love all the while. If Daniel Jonas had one advantage on him at all as far as Nicole was concerned, that was it. He vowed he would never say those words again, and if hearing those words was the end-all, be-all of what Nicole believed constituted a relationship, he might be able to force her to remain at his side for all eternity, but he would never have her heart and soul. It was just as well he supposed since he wasn't prepared to surrender his, even though the agonizing scream coming from within begged him to do otherwise.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Surprise," Nicole exclaimed as she flashed her most brilliant smile to Daniel whose jaw had dropped open in shock in response to seeing her.

"Nicole! What are-," he began, intending to ask the first burning question to pop immediately into his mind before noticing her injury. "What happened to you?"

"Oh, it's a long, complicated story. Do you mind if I come in?"

"No, no, of course not. Come in," he replied with a welcoming smile as he propped the door wide open by holding his back to it until she could pass through.

She headed straight for the couch and sunk into the corner which was her usual spot, throwing her head into the back support to demonstrate her extreme exhaustion. Daniel was immediately at her side, hovering over her on his knees from the seat beside hers. "Nic, are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she replied with the back of one of her hands draped across her forehead to shield her eyes from the recessed ceiling lights blaring down directly into them. "Just a little sore, and really, really tired."

"What on earth did you do to your foot?"

"Oh, I just lost my balance going down the steps and I twisted it pretty good. It's just a sprain."

"Well, here, come on...sit back and let's get your foot propped up here," he said while he prepared a stack of pillows for her to rest her swollen ankle on. "I just got home from the hospital about an hour ago, you know. Why didn't you have somebody let me know you were there?"

Thank god Xander can't see this, she thought as Daniel slipped up beside her and started to caress her cheek, smiling down at her with a look of both concern and complete adoration. Of course Daniel's change of heart toward her would come now that she was forbidden to react to it. "I wasn't in Salem when it happened," she began to explain in effort to dispel her urge to kiss him. "I was up by the lake. You know, after we argued I just got in my car and started driving with no particular place in mind and I ended up there. For the longest time I just sat there in the car staring out at the lake, thinking things over and before I knew it, it had gotten pretty late so I ended up just renting one of those cabins up there for the night. I was gonna stay there a few days like I told you earlier, but after twisting my ankle like a klutz, I just wanted to come home. I hope you don't mind me stopping by unannounced but I really wanted to see you."

Without a single warning signal, his upper body collapsed into hers as he pulled her into a loving embrace. With her head cradled in the crook of his arm, he directed her lips toward his where they were met by the most intense kiss she'd ever received courtesy of Daniel Jonas. For just a moment she forgot she was there with orders until she heard the familiar buzzing of her cell phone.

Daniel felt her body freeze up beneath him, prompting him to draw away and evaluate her sudden disinterest in him.

"I'm sorry," she offered as she grabbed her purse and started rummaging through it in search of her phone. "I have to see who this is."

He watched her curiously as she withdrew her phone with nervous, shaky hands and proceeded to tap away on the screen.

 _What are you doing, sis?_ Her message from 'Brandon' read.

Daniel watched with interest as she shook her head agitatedly and began to type away some response to the apparent text message she'd just received.

 _I'm at Daniel's place and we're talking._

Just barely after sending that message through, another incoming one from 'Brandon' arrived. _I SURE WISH I COULD SEE YOU!_

Great. She'd barely been there ten minutes and already Xander was on her case about setting up the cameras.

"Who is that," Daniel inquired suspiciously, nodding in the direction of her phone.

"Oh, it's just Brandon. We've been texting back and forth all day. He's going through some stuff right now too so we've been unloading on each other."

"Why do you seem so pissed off?"

"Oh," she began, clearly taken aback by his question when she realized she had made zero attempt to conceal her irritation in response to Xander's intrusive texts. "I, uh...it's just because I tried to warn him about this bitch he's seeing, that's all," she explained with growing confidence as she ironed out all the details of the fabrication to follow. "He's pretty sure that his girlfriend is cheating on him and I'm just aggravated that he didn't listen to me about her in the first place."

Her phone buzzed again. _ASAP_

"It's kinda chilly in here, don't you think," Nicole commented as she rubbed her arms in effort to create some warmth although in reality she was perfectly comfortable. Her aim was to get Daniel out of the room in search of a blanket long enough so she could set up the first camera right there in the living room. She figured as long as Xander could see her that would satisfy him enough for now.

"Well, I can think of several ways to warm you up."

 _Oh, no. This is not good_ , she thought as Daniel rolled on top of her and began to kiss her again. She knew she should protest as instructed, but the more she considered the consequences of her actions, the more she wanted Daniel to continue. She had waited far too long for this to allow Xander to ruin it, and realistically there was really nothing he could do about it than to be forced to sit back and listen. She wasn't sure which of the two prospects was more appealing: making out with Daniel, or sticking it to Xander.

"Oh, Daniel. I love you," she managed to call out breathily between kisses, making sure she was at least loud enough for Xander to hear. She began to chuckle mischievously when her phone began vibrating on the table top.

"What's so funny? It's kinda awkward hearing you say, 'I love you' followed by maniacal laughter, you know."

"I'm sorry," she replied, still chuckling intermittently while she attempted to curb the amusement brought on from imagining Xander's frustration. "I'm just laughing because every time we have a moment, someone or something always seems to interrupt us."

"Well, I happen to have a solution for that." He reached over to the table and grabbed her phone with the intent of turning it off.

"No no no, don't," she said, intercepting his attempt by regaining possession of her phone. "I can just ignore it. It's only Brandon." She reached out just briefly enough to toss her phone back onto the coffee table, then returned her arm to it's former position around Daniel's waist. "Now, where were we?"

Xander gave up on pouring the scotch from the now half-empty bottle into his glass. After about the eighth refill, the ice was nearly gone anyway and he wasn't about to leave the room to go get more. There were more important things to worry himself over, like what he was going to do to Nicole when he finally got his hands on her. The bitch was purposely pushing his buttons and she was going to pay dearly for her mistake. He ceased bombarding her with text messages long enough to make a call.

"Yeah, it's me. Looks like we're going to have to step it up a notch. I want you to get me some video of you interacting with the girl, as if you're attempting to kidnap her. I don't want you to touch her physically, I just want to see some footage of you trying to lure her into your car or something. It has become apparent that my subject is not taking my threats seriously."

"You got it," the voice on the other end responded affirmatively before Xander terminated the call.

"DAMN YOU, NICOLE," he screamed as he flung the glass he'd formerly been drinking from at the wall full-force, shattering it into thousands of tiny pieces. Just when he believed things were moving in the right direction, he was going to be forced to play the bad guy again. He knew that every moan coming out of her, transmitted through the monitoring program on his laptop, as she made out/had sex with Daniel, he wasn't sure exactly which was the case, was carefully crafted to infuriate him to no end. If this was truly her intent, which he was certain it was, then her efforts were a raging success.

He resumed texting her, getting no response at all as expected. He glanced at the time on his phone. They'd been going at it, whatever it was, for over an hour now and his patience had reached it's end. He had to do something to break up the fun. In just a few extended chugs, he downed the remainder of the scotch, tossed the empty bottle in the pile of shattered glass on the floor, then with phone in hand he made another call as he began his journey to Daniel's apartment, this time to Navidad. "Yeah it's me. I have another job for you and Angelo. I want you to stake out the Salem Inn and wait for me return there. If things go as planned I'll be arriving with Daniel Jonas in my car so be on the lookout. When you see him heading for home on foot, follow him and see to it that he has a rather unpleasant encounter with Angelo, and make sure enough damage is done to keep him out of my hair for a couple of days."

Every time her phone vibrated with the indication of a new text message, a wave of excitement rippled through her body. She had to admit she had unfairly judged Xander for the pleasure he derived from seeking revenge on Daniel for she herself was loving every minute of torturing him. Yeah, yeah, she'd been issued her warnings, but instinct told her that when it came to his threats toward Sydney he was full of shit, she was sure of it. She certainly wouldn't do anything to put Sydney in danger, and especially not for something done solely for her amusement. She knew she would face his wrath eventually, but more than anything it would simply be a case of him attempting to intimidate her with empty threats and plenty of screaming and smashing things.

The loud, persistent banging on the door startled the two of them.

"Daniel? Are you in there?"

Nicole could hardly dismiss the devious grin beginning to spread across her face in reaction to hearing Xander's unmistakable voice coming from outside.

"Xander," Daniel inquired, furrowing his brow as he rose up off the couch and began to button his shirt before approaching the door. Nicole, on the other hand opted to come out from hiding under the blanket so Xander would have a clear view of her wearing only her bra.

Nicole studied him curiously as he staggered inside the opened door. She could already smell the liquor on his breath from half way across the room.

"I'm sorry," Xander began as he locked his eyes on Nicole, shooting her a look of intense displeasure. "I didn't realize you were going to have company, but now that we're all together, it's time to party, don't you think? Three makes a party, isn't that what they say."

"Actually, Xander, I think the saying goes three's a crowd so why don't you just turn around and go on home." Nicole couldn't resist flashing her most taunting smile as she said so.

"Yeah, man, you know what, we're really tired and it's quite obvious that you my friend have had way too much to drink so I think it would be a good idea for all of us to just call it a night."

"Suit yourself, there's bound to be a party somewhere," Xander said as he stumbled back toward the door swinging a set of car keys around the tip of one of his fingers.

"Oh, come on man, please tell me you didn't drive here. The Inn is only a couple of blocks away."

"Don't be such a stiff, Daniel. Drinks don't cause accidents, drunks cause accidents and I am a man who can hold my liquor."

"Oh yeah, well not tonight, you aren't. Not on my watch. I'm going to drive you home, let's go."

"Do you see this man," Xander said, directing his comment to Nicole, pointing to Daniel and slurring his words in a way which appeared to be a bit theatrical, at least to her. "This man is a true gentleman. You, my dear are lucky to have him."

"Yes, I am," she replied smugly, flashing him another brilliant smile. "Very lucky indeed."

"I think it's supposed to be rather cold tonight so I'm just gonna grab a jacket real quick," Daniel announced just before disappearing into the bedroom.

The second he was out of sight, Xander grabbed Nicole from behind, wrapping an arm around her neck as he hissed as quietly as possible into her ear. "You're going to be very sorry for this little stunt of yours, love. The second I walk out that door, you are to get busy finding those diamonds, you understand me?"

"Or what? What are you going to do, Xander?"

"What I'm going to do has already been decided. You'll find out the consequences of your actions soon enough."

He quickly darted away after hearing the bedroom door swing open, returning to the same spot he was in when Daniel departed. Gone was all of Nicole's brazen defiance. Instead she shot him a look he surmised was a plea for him to put a stop to whatever dastardly thing it was he had planned. No, he couldn't. Not this one. As he bid her farewell with a malevolent smile, he internally acknowledged that his only regret was that he couldn't be the one to beat Daniel Jonas to a bloody pulp with his own bare hands.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES" Nicole exclaimed excitedly from on her knees facing the couch as she studied the small pile of brilliantly sparkling diamonds in the palm of her hand. She had managed to find five of them just like that, laying right there in plain view after she'd removed the seat cushions for inspection. Now if only finding the next three before Daniel returned home could be as simple so she could finally get Xander off her back. She was just about to slide her hand into one of the crevices to explore when she heard the familiar sound of the elevator door sliding open from the hallway outside the apartment, leaving her no other choice than to abort her mission for now. She grabbed the cushions and scrambled to return them to their correct positions, then began crawling on her knees to her purse which she'd sat down on the accent table just next to the front door when she'd arrived earlier so she could stash the diamonds in there for safe keeping. When she heard the shuffling of feet right outside the door, she made a marked effort to pick up the pace which only caused her to lose her balance and go crashing down to the floor. Her arms had automatically swung out in front of her in effort to brace herself for landing, but by the time they got where they needed to be it was too late, causing her to fall flat on her chest. The impact resulted in her hand releasing the the diamonds, sending them flying into the air briefly before landing on the carpet about a foot ahead of her.

 _That's it. I'm toast,_ she warned herself as she heard the rustling of the door knob. How in the world was she going to explain this one to Daniel. She made one final attempt to lunge toward the diamonds but it was already too late. Daniel had already swung the door wide open and there was no escaping her predicament now. At least she had assumed it was Daniel.

"Well if this isn't a sight. What if I had been Daniel, hmmm? How on earth would you explain this to him?"

"Xander? What the hell are you doing here," she hissed at her unexpected visitor as she attempted to push herself back to her knees. "Where's Daniel?"

"I don't know," he proclaimed innocently as he slipped an arm around her waist to aid her to her desired position. Well, it was a true statement. He might have some knowledge about WHAT was happening to Daniel as they spoke, but he didn't know for sure WHERE it was taking place.

"What do you mean, 'you don't know," she growled angrily at him as she attempted to remove the arm around her waist that had been lingering far too long for her liking after offering it's assistance. "And why the hell aren't you at the Inn? What the hell are you up to, Xander?"

"Well, it came to my attention that my new employee needs a little extra supervision when I happened to catch her lying around on her back while on the job. I'm here to make sure that she follows her instructions from here on out."

"What the hell did you do to Daniel," she said, staring up at him from her knees with a worrisome look in her eyes.

"I see that you found five," he said, deliberately avoiding her question as he squatted down to scoop up the recovered jewels which he swiftly tucked away into the inner pocket of his jacket. "Only three more to go."

The next thing he knew, his back was hitting the floor and Nicole was sitting on on top of him with her legs straddling him at the waist. Her hands were at his shoulders and she leaned into them, channeling all the strength she had to keep him pinned to the floor in this position.

"You are going to tell me exactly what you did to Daniel," she screamed angrily as she dug her nails into his shoulders for added emphasis although it proved to have little effectiveness due to the multiple layers of clothing he wore.

"Oh, come on love, relax. Daniel is going to be fine," he said chuckling jovially. His amusement over the situation only infuriated her more.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?" Her hands had left his shoulders and were now going straight for his neck.

His hands, which were left quite free, grabbed her at the wrists and managed to tame them to her sides using very little force. This prompted her to begin jabbing her knees into his sides in effort to inflict some kind of pain on him.

"You know, you're really turning me on right now," he cooed to her seductively. "I really wasn't expecting this from you until at least our third date."

"WHERE IS DANIEL!"

He had been enjoying getting a rise out of her but her furious scream proved to be a bit too much, prompting him to make a move. Putting his hands to her waist while he shifted his weight, he was able to effortlessly roll over on top of her where he immediately covered her mouth with his hand.

Although the gesture was an act of urgency and desperation which usually called for unbridled force, Nicole couldn't help but notice there was a gentleness in the way he handled her. God knows with the size of those arms of his, he was certainly capable of causing her some severe discomfort while attempting to control her, but not once did he ever inflict even the slightest degree of pain on her.

"Shhhh," he breathed into her ear, his lips lingering there indefinitely after issuing her the subtle warning and as he continued to explain. "There is no need to get all excited. I assure you Daniel is going to be fine. I simply made some arrangements to get him out of our hair until the diamonds are found." He removed his hand from her mouth without feeling the need to give her instruction. Besides, he wasn't about to free her from her current position of being pinned beneath him so if she started to scream again, quieting her would be an easy fix.

"What did you do to him, Xander" she asked again, her chest heaving rapidly from her racing heart which was surely a side effect of her concern for Daniel's safety. _Or maybe it's because you enjoy the way Xander man-handles you just a little bit. Oh, shut up you!_

"I didn't do anything except make the call to have him roughed up a little bit. Nothing serious, of course. Uncle Victor would have my head if he knew I hurt his precious little godson."

"You are such a son of a bitch!"

"I suppose I am in my own way" he replied agreeably, cocking his head to the side as he pondered her accusation. "But so is he, made clear by the way he is with you. I would never treat you the way Daniel does."

"Oh, you got that right. Daniel would never keep me tied up for the night, or threaten the life of a little girl I love so that he could keep me in line and force me to do his bidding!"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, love. You won't listen to reason willingly so you've left me with no other option but to use whatever means necessary to get you out of this hell you've been living in. I'm trying to get you to see the truth."

"The truth? The truth about what exactly," she said defiantly as she made her first attempt to wiggle out from beneath him but, with his full weight resting horizontally on top of her quivering body, there was no escaping for her unless he decided he was ready to let her go which she soon enough discovered he was not.

"That you're not in love with Daniel," he answered with all the confidence of a world renowned expert on the subject of her feelings.

"No, I am in love with Daniel for your information," she rebutted with the typical over-exaggeration of a bad liar.

"Oh, I believe you think you are. You certainly want to be, because settling down with a man like Daniel means you've changed your wicked ways. You blame no one but yourself for every shitty thing that's happened to you in life and you think that by redeeming yourself, good things will finally come to you. If you can get Daniel to love you then your transformation can be declared a success because, after all, Daniel is the poster child for all that is good and wholesome in the world and the authority on right and wrong. Problem is though, you haven't really changed at all. The only thing that has changed is how Daniel perceives you because you're bending over backwards to become the woman he wants you to be. It's a truly fucked up situation because everybody in this town worships Daniel, and you have no one around who is team Nicole to be your voice of reason."

"And if there was, what would this voice of reason say?"

"That you are absolutely perfect just the way you are and anyone who can't see that isn't worth a minute more of your time."

 _Come on, Nicole. Say something, anything, and stop staring into Xander's demon eyes for the love of God!_ But the look in his eyes couldn't have been further from demonic. It was every bit as warm, inviting, and seductive as the gentle whispering of his voice in her ear. "How can you say that? Daniel is a wonderful person."

"Yeah, so he keeps reminding everyone. He especially likes to do that with you, doesn't he? He just loves putting you down and pointing out your flaws because it makes him feel so much higher up on that pedestal of his. Bastard deserves everything he's about to get tonight. I'm only sorry I couldn't be the one to do it."

She began to shake her head from side to side. His face was so close she nearly inadvertently brushed his lips with hers when her head turned in his direction. "This isn't even about Daniel, is it? You're doing this because-"

His lips were on hers in an instant, partly because he sought to stop her from making what would probably be a dead-accurate assumption about his true intentions for her, but mostly because he could no longer fight his overwhelming desire to show her how he felt in the best way that he knew how. To his delight, she not only didn't make even the slightest attempt to resist, she used every one of her limbs to bring him closer to her by entangling them with his. She kissed him back with feverish desire, and if he dared to pull away for even a fraction of a second, her lips went on a desperate search for his until they were reunited once more. Her willingness to accept his affections allowed his hands to finally begin to explore other regions of her body that he'd declared off-limits until he received the green light signaling it was safe to proceed and as one hand began massaging one of her breasts, the other gently cradled her face as he continued to kiss her relentlessly.

She began to reciprocate moving to this next level by slipping her hand underneath his jacket in attempt to initiate the peeling away of the layers of his clothing. When he caught wind of what her quest was, he pushed himself to his knees, taking on the position she'd had him in earlier, sitting on top of her with his legs straddling her at the waist. He only intended to remain in this position long enough to perform the task of removing his jacket for her, but when she raised herself up to reach for him, he removed himself from her body to allow her to move freely, wherever and however she wished.

She was on her knees as well now, and as he just about had his arms freed from the sleeves of his jacket, she went to work on unbuttoning his shirt as she resumed their briefly interrupted kiss. After the third button or so, she lost her patience trying to navigate the tiny buttons back through their holes with her trembling fingers, prompting her to complete the tedious task of removing his shirt by ripping it off instead. She could tell her display of passion excited him which automatically escalated her enjoyment of the act as well.

As much as her lips longed to remain forever trapped in their embrace, she couldn't resist the opportunity to back away and admire the now completely unveiled, perfect chiseled body she knew had been hiding beneath all those expensive suits all the while. She stared deeply into his eyes as her hands began their examination of his biceps, lightly squeezing each one to evaluate their firmness.

There was so much he wanted to say but he didn't dare speak for fear of saying the wrong thing which could potentially put an untimely end to this most welcome, unanticipated encounter in an instant. He would have been happy with just the kiss he thought he might be able to get away with tonight. He never would have imagined in a million years that she would be ready to go all the way so soon, but there she was kneeling before him with eyes begging for him to take her. He gripped her gently at the wrists, then rose to his feet, pulling her up right along with him. Keeping her sprained ankle in mind, he immediately swept her off her feet into his arms, and kept his eyes fixated on hers as he carried her off to Daniel's bedroom.

He lowered her to the edge of the bed and immediately sat beside her and waited to receive some sort of signal that she hadn't changed her mind somewhere between there and the living room. When her arms began to reach around her back with the obvious intent of unzipping her dress, he seized her at her wrists and returned her arms to her sides as he began to kiss the back of her neck. Slowly, after releasing one of her hands from the position he demonstrated they were to remain, he began to unzip her form-fitting blue dress, sending his lips on a journey down her spine to explore this new found territory. When the zipper reached the end of it's track, he placed both hands at her shoulders and began to peel the dress away from her body, sending the loose fabric falling to her sides at the waist. He stole a moment to peer over her shoulder and observe the look of her breasts in the lacy, black bra before his lips found their way back to her neck and his fingers worked at unfastening the two tiny hooks holding the undergarment together. Once it had been removed, she fell to her back and beckoned him to fall on top of her using only her eyes to communicate her wish.

His lips immediately found their way to her bare chest, causing her to begin panting and moaning from the sheer ecstasy brought on by the feeling of his warm tongue on one of her most intimate body parts. Although he was already prepared to satisfy her every need, her verbal display of satisfaction heightened his arousal, prompting him to begin sliding off his pants to leave adequate room for expansion. Eager to follow suit, Nicole began to push down the bottom half of her dress, then allowed Xander to take over when he willingly offered to finish the job.

With the pair of them down to a single item of clothing still covering their lower halves, he fell back on top of her and returned his lips to her mouth and one hand to her breast while his free hand ventured toward the only remaining uncharted territory of her body.

And then the telephone rang, causing everything to come to a screeching, irreversible halt.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Nicole's hand flew over and grabbed the ringing cordless telephone handset on Daniel's bedside table despite Xander's unsuccessful attempt to interfere with her quest. The two of them were as good as completely naked and nearing the climax of an intense make-out session, about ready to take it to the next level, when the phone had begun to ring. Thank god...if it hadn't been for this perfectly-timed interruption, Nicole imagined she would have made what was sure to be one of the biggest mistakes of her life. At least that was what she had to remind herself.

"Hello," she answered in a voice ladened with nervousness which she quickly realized was due more to the fear of being caught in the act than concern for Daniel's well-being, which she automatically assumed was the purpose of the call.

"Nicole, this is Maxine at the hospital. I need to have a word with you, honey."

Xander was at it again. He had ceased action momentarily upon the initial interference but his mouth soon again began devouring one of her breasts while the thumbs of both his hands, still looped around her panties, began their attempt to slide them off. Since words were not an option at this point, Nicole was forced to resoprt to other means of showing her disapproval giving a swift and forceful knee to his groin area, effectively causing him to roll off her, howling in pain as he curled up into a fetal position, protecting his manhood.

"Oh, Maxine, thank god. Is this about Daniel? I've been worried sick!" _That's it, Nicole, lay it on thick. The only thing you were worried about before the phone rang was what he was going to feel like inside you. Oh my god, shut up, Nikki, you're disgusting!_

"Yeah, he told me you were at his place and he asked me to give you a call. Somebody attacked him."

She carried on the conversation with Maxine, watching in amusement as Xander continued to writhe around on the bed in agony. Although he was making an effort to control his whimpering, she grabbed one of the pillows and threw it over his head and proceeded to lay across it to hold it on place, grinning vindictively all the while. She knew he was truly suffering when he made no attempt to combat her. Good for him. Bastard was finally getting a taste of his own medicine.

"Attacked? What do you mean? What did they do to him?"

"Well, his wallet was stolen so it looks like your typical mugging. He got roughed up a bit and was hit on the head a few times. A man jogging in the park found him lying unconscious and called for help. He's awake now and we're sure he's going to be alright but we're keeping him overnight just to keep an eye on him."

"Oh, my god. Ok, I will be down there-"

"No, honey, Daniel wants you to stay put."

 _Aww, he doesn't want me to exert myself in my condition,_ she pondered as she imagined Daniel relaying to Maxine his concern for her and her sprained ankle.

"He said Chloe will be there first thing in the morning to drop off Parker, and with both Melanie and Maggie out of town, there really wasn't anyone left that he could call on such short notice."

She felt her heart sink so low she was sure that it had left her body completely and was gobbled up by the bed as if it were a patch of quicksand. "Of course, I'll be here to watch him. Tell Daniel not to worry."

"I will. He promised to call you as soon as they're through evaluating him. He's having some x-rays done as we speak so it shouldn't be too much longer."

"Ok, thanks Maxine. And-" _And give Daniel my love_ , was what she was about to say. _Oh, fuck him, Nicole. You've given him far too much of your affections already._

"And what, honey?"

"Just tell him I'll be thinking about him," she said, opting to end the call on that note with a push to the 'end' button of the cordless land line phone. At least that was a true statement, She would be thinking about what as ass he was.

She suddenly remembered Xander laying beneath her. He had grown so quiet and still that she nearly forgot he was there. _Nearly forgot my ass, Nikki. You were totally just considering picking up where things left off so you could stick it to Daniel by having revenge sex. Oh, shut up Nicole!_ She rose up off the pillow and almost withdrew it from his face before coming to the realization that she was completely topless. Although he had already become quite familiar with nearly every inch of her body, she found herself grabbing the sheets and tucking them under her arms to provide herself with a little modesty. She then finally yanked the pillow away and gasped in horror at the sight before her. His eyes were wide open as with his mouth, as if frozen mid-scream. Not a muscle in his face twitched, nor did he blink an eye. The heart she was so sure had been eaten up by quicksand was once again pounding in her chest as she studied his carefully in order to observe the rise and fall indicating that he was at least breathing. He was not.

"Oh god. Xander?" She grabbed him at the shoulders and began shaking him violently. No response.

"XANDER?" The disposition of his eyes and mouth remained unchanged, causing her to go into a complete state of panic. "Oh, god, oh god, ok, think Nikki," she said breathlessly as she began to hyperventilate as a result of her terrified state. "Ok, CPR, right? You can do this. It's not too late."

She immediately threw her mouth on top of his, blowing second-hand air into his lungs with all her might. When his lips closed around hers and she suddenly found his tongue slithering it's way into her mouth, she briefly celebrated the success of her life-saving gesture before it even occurred to her that she'd been played.

"YOU BASTARD," she screamed angrily as she pulled away and immediately proceeded to grab the pillow that had once covered his face and started to beat him with it. He laughed hysterically with a high-pitched chuckle that reminded her of a teenage girl reacting to a snide remark made by one of her besties in regard to her biggest rival. His amusement with the situation only enraged her more. "GET UP AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, XANDER!"

"I can't, love" he barely managed to squeak out between fits of giggles. "You see, the lack of oxygen to my brain has left me paralyzed from the waist down."

"THIS IS NOT FUNNY," she continued fuming as she hopped from the bed, still clinging to the sheets for coverage until she could retrieve her crumpled-up dress off the floor and slip back into it. "You need to get the hell out of here. Parker's mother will be here to drop him off soon."

"It's 2 AM, love. I heard the woman say she'd be here early morning, but I doubt she means that early."

"Yeah, well the fact that I wasn't given a time means it's all the more necessary that you get the hell out of here ASAP."

"Will you just relax. Come on, lighten up a bit, I'm just trying to show you how to have some fun."

She had to bite her lip to keep herself from screaming out in frustration once more. "Xander-"

"You should have seen your face when you thought I was dead."

"If you don't get out right now-"

"You were totally scared-"

"I am going to-"

"You're going to what, love? Call the police? And tell them what, exactly?"

She struggled to come up with some kind of answer that sounded plausible, but the more she tried to think of something the harder it became to focus. _Or maybe you're just full of shit and he knows you secretly want him to stay._

"That's what I thought," he replied with a cocky sneer as stepped past her and into the bathroom.

"Oh my god, what am I doing," she whispered aloud to herself as she smoothed the wrinkles on her dress and checked her appearance in the mirror, half expecting to see a haggard old woman peering back at her. Instead, despite all her internal worrying about what to do about Xander, what she saw was a dramatically more carefree, youthful-looking, and dare she admit, sexy, reflection of herself than she'd seen in years. For a flash of a second, she saw the same version of herself, this time naked, with Xander's hands cupping her breasts while she threw her head back against his shoulder, moaning in ecstasy. She shook the image away just as quickly as it had come to her and focused on the sound of the shower running in the bathroom.

"What are you doing in there," she shouted from still inside the bedroom, not really knowing why she felt the need to ask the question with such an obvious answer.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm finishing the job you wouldn't, my love, and then finishing up with a cold shower. Why, you care to join me? I bet you could use a little cooling off too."

"Eeew, no thank you! I'll take my own when you're done."

"Suit yourself."

She shook her head frustratedly and stormed into the living room, sinking down onto the floor in front of the couch to resume searching for the diamonds. Maybe once she found the stupid things Xander would forget about everything else and just go his merry way. _And where would that leave you, Nicole? Back to desperately trying to become the June to Daniel's Ward? Babysitting Parker while Daniel made his rounds visiting everyone above you on the tremendous totem pole of the important people in his life, which was basically everyone else on top of you?_

She tried not to think about him in the shower, and tried even harder not to look when he stepped into the hall dripping wet, wrapped in nothing but a towel. Her eyes became transfixed on the beads of water on his chest, and she imagined how only half an hour ago his body had looked much the same, only then it was from sweat-his, hers...a combination of the two-who could tell? All she knew was that either way, he looked damn sexy.

"Any luck," he inquired, scratching his head through the long strands of his hair, typically worn slicked back when his hair was styled, which had plastered themselves to his cheek. She couldn't help but notice and admire how the unkempt do seemed to lend a boyish charm to his appearance.

"Um, no," she replied when she was finally able to focus on the question and remember exactly what it was she had been doing.

"I'll keep looking while you go and do your thing."

She took the coldest shower she could stand that didn't leave her gasping for her breath from her body going into shock. She had to stop thinking about him like that. She was done with men like him, like EJ, he had hit the nail on the head with that. Maybe Daniel wasn't the guy for her, but Xander certainly wasn't either. _Just keep telling yourself that, Nicole._

"Any luck," she was the one to inquire this time, drawing his attention from an armchair he'd decided to dissect to her towel-clad body now. Instead of being answered with the verbal response she'd expected, she now found herself to be the object of a little just-post-shower bodily admiration this time.

"None," he replied from his knees, now fully dressed minus his suit jacket and shoes and a few buttons on his shirt. "I combed this room pretty well while you were in there. What on earth were you doing in there, by the way? You took an awfully long time. Thinking of me, I hope."

"Xander, please. I'm not in the mood."

"That's not what it seemed like before."

"I'm tired, I'm cranky...I just want to go to bed."

"Then go," he replied turning suddenly serious, but with a smile that informed her he was being nothing but accommodating. "I'll keep looking while you get some rest."

"Xander, you can't be here when Chloe comes to drop off Parker."

"Relax. Navidad and Angelo are staking the joint out so they can give me a warning call in case any unexpected visitors show up. They'll know to call when they see Parker coming. Come on, let's go. Off to bed with you."

She didn't protest when he scooped her up to carry her off to the bedroom. In all actuality, she had come to expect it and would have been rather disappointed if he had left her to get there on her own accord. She slept well for the next two and a half hours, until the sound of the doorbell crudely woke her from the most peaceful sleep she'd experienced in a long time.

"Xander," she found herself quietly calling out loud as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. No answer. She grabbed the crutches laying propped up on her bedside table and used them to venture out into the apartment. There was no sign of him anywhere. The buzzer rang again, followed by a loud persistent knock to the door.

"Nicole?"

"Chloe, hi, just a minute," she called out to acknowledge that she had been heard knowing she wasn't as quick on her feet as she'd like to be.

"Hey," Chloe cooed warmly to her long, lost friend, as she held a still sleeping Parker in her arms. "What on earth happened to you?" She inquired with alarm upon sudden realization of Nicole's state.

"Oh, it's a long story. One that you probably don't have time for right now."

Chloe frowned. "I know, I don't, I'm sorry, I'm in such a rush to get to the airport. I never would have taken Parker for the night if I had known I was going to be called for this audition. It was totally last-minute."

"No worries, you go girl! Good luck at your audition, knock 'em dead and all that good stuff. We'll catch up when you get back!"

Chloe scurried in the door and laid Parker down on the couch, proceeding to cover him with a blanket and kiss him on his forehead before sprinting back for the door. "Yes, we must. And you must especially fill me in on this hottie down the hall."

"Huh?"

"Well, I'm assuming he lives on this floor. He got on the elevator just as I was getting off. He said 'good morning' to me. Sounds English or something. Anyway, I hope he's single cuz I'm tellin' ya, when I get back I intend to get me a piece of that!"

"Well, we'll see about that when you get back, won't we? Have a good flight!"

Nicole found herself slamming the door in Chloe's face, muting the remainder of whatever departing statement her friend had intended for her. She threw her back to the door and folded her arms across her chest and found herself mimicking her friend using a grossly exaggerated version of Chloe's sultry voice. "I intend to get me a piece of that," she repeated her exact words, frowning all the way. It was hearing the voice of the real Nicole Walker, resonating out loud and proud from deep within, which caused her to break into a wicked smile. "Like hell you will, bitch. You just keep your grubby little paws far away from Xander. He's mine."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Nicole sat on the floor of the kitchen in Daniel's apartment, with her back propped up against the refrigerator, cell phone in hand, feeling as if she were about to cry. She wasn't sure exactly why she was hurt by the conversation she'd just had with Daniel; after all it was only more of the usual, I talked to this person and that person before I could get to you, without even offering an explanation as to why he didn't call her back and speak with her personally as Maxine informed her he'd promised. Somehow he found the time to speak with Maggie, Melanie, Chloe, and Jennifer before finally calling home to speak with, you guessed it, Parker. And then it dawned on her: She wasn't feeling sorry for herself because Daniel was neglecting her. The tears she felt brewing inside were angry tears, directed at no one but herself for foolishly wasting away precious, time-sensitive years of her life. Time that could have been spent trying to build a family with somebody who actually not only wanted the same, but wanted to do it with her, without her having to do just about everything short of clubbing the man on the head and dragging him to her lair.

Her phone began to ring again. Maybe it was Daniel, calling back to apologize for being so thoughtless. Nope, but it was another very important call she'd been expecting from 'Brandon" AKA Xander.

"What took you so long," she squawked into the phone scoldingly, careful to keep her voice hushed enough so Parker wouldn't hear her while he played just a few feet away on the living room floor. "I've been combing this apartment for an hour with no luck. I wanted you to tell me where you already looked. Please don't tell me I'm doing double the work."

"I'm sorry, love," he gushed into the receiver with a sincerely apologetic tone. "I had an unexpected visitor show up at my hotel room requiring my undivided attention. Forgive me."

"Yeah, ok, whatever, just tell me where you looked already?"

"Everywhere. I don't think I left a stone unturned, pardon the pun, before I left. It doesn't matter where I looked because I didn't find them, and I don't care if we have to look in the same spot a hundred times, our time is running out. That's why Lucius decided to grace me with his presence. I gave him what we found last night and he's decided he would like to stay until we find the rest."

She couldn't help but notice the hint of nervousness in his voice as he spoke of the mysterious and elusive Lucius. Was it possible that there was actually somebody in the world that Xander Kiriakis feared?

"I'm sorry about the phone call from Daniel, by the way."

"What?" How on earth did he know...the necklace. She had forgotten about the necklace with the hidden transmitter. _Oh dear god, what else did he hear? Please tell me he did not hear you mocking Chloe and claiming him as yours! Good job, Nicole!_

"I could hear your voice cracking. I know he upset you."

"No, you know what, it's fine. I'm fine. Are you fine?"

"Did you just ask me if I'm fine?"

"Yeah, I believe those were the words coming from my mouth."

"Why, Nicole Walker! I'm beginning to think you actually care. I'm touched."

She tried to stifle the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth but, with no one around to observe aside from Parker who was busy playing with his toys, she decided to allow it just this once. Besides, it didn't really matter if anyone saw her anyway so long as it wasn't Xander. Just because she didn't want to see the guy end up dead didn't mean that she wanted to sleep with him, _except you did_ , or marry him, _but you at least considered it could be fun_ , or have his babies, _even though you know you physically can't, you thought about it._ And that whole remark she'd made in regards to Chloe's comment about him, it was just a little fantasy, nothing more. Maybe in another world, she and Xander could have had a future together. If he wasn't so twisted and aggressive, and a little rough around the edges, _just the way you like 'em, Nikki_ , the two of them could rule all of Salem. _Fuck Salem, you and Xander could rule the world. Not a fantasy world, this world._

"Yeah, well don't get used to it. Only the first concern is free."

"Why are you concerned," he asked remarkably calmly for a man with a gun being held to his head, unbeknownst to Nicole.

"I dunno. You just sound...tense."

"Don't worry yourself, love. Just find those diamonds as soon as you possibly can."

"I don't know how much longer I'll be able to look. Maggie is heading here as soon as she gets back into town to be with Parker. I don't know if she plans on staying or what."

"Well, do whatever you have to do to convince her to take the little brat back to the mansion so you can stay there."

"Yeah, well knowing her she'll chase me out of here, saying I have no business being here if Daniel's not home."

"Well that's when you tell her she has no business being in Kansas and she should fly back to OZ on her broomstick."

Hearing her hearty chuckle was music to his ears. It was the first genuinely carefree laugh he'd heard from her since way back when on one of their first 'dates,' before Daniel's name had popped up and promptly spoiled all their fun.

"OK, I'll tell her you said that."

"Nicole...I just want you to know, whatever happens...I hope you realize I never would have done anything to hurt you."

"Xander-" She was about to demand to know what was going on when the call ended abruptly, prompting her heart to begin racing with nervousness. The appearance of this Lucius, the tone of his voice, his heartfelt confession...none of this was settling well with her at all. Those stupid diamonds. Three lousy diamonds She could probably knock off a jewelry store with less effort then it was taking her to find them, if they were even there.

 _Whatever happens...I hope you realize I never would have done anything to hurt you._ It wasn't a confession, it was a goodbye. If she didn't find those diamonds, Xander was a dead man, and she'd probably be joining him too.

"Ok, Ok, think, Nicole. Think."

"Nicoooole?"

The shrill little voice coming from the living room was Parker. "What is it, honey," she called after him as she dropped to her elbows to peer underneath the refrigerator, hoping to find a diamond or two or three might have ended up there after a good cleaning.

"I want to play a game."

She found herself rolling her eyes to the invitation which she would have been more than tickled to accept until just very recently. "In a little bit, honey, ok? I promised your daddy I would have your apartment all nice and clean for him when he comes home."

"Ok," she could hear the little boy saying disappointedly. Why was it that no one wanted to be bothered with her until she was in the midst of something important herself? _Wait a minute, did you just imply that saving Xander's life was important?_

When she could no longer bear the discomfort in her back from crawling around on all fours, she got to her feet and hopped her way into the living room.

"They have to be in here somewhere," she whispered quietly, loud enough only for herself to hear. And then something caught the corner of her eye. The unmistakable twinkling of a diamond reflecting light. Bot not just A diamond. All three missing diamonds, laying in plain sight amongst the plain white marbles lying in the center of Parker's Hungry Hungry Hippos game. She squealed with delight as she fell to the floor in her quest to collect the gems, only she found her recovery temporarily halted by Parker who hastily scooped them up as she approached the game board.

"Parker. What you got there, honey." she asked, speaking as calmly as possible as she extended an upturned palm to the boy, hoping he would just hand the gems right over.

"Sparkles," he exclaimed excitedly as he thrust hist tightly-clenched fist encasing the diamonds into the air.

"I thought I saw something sparkly and pretty! Can you show Nicole your sparkles?"

He shook his head defiantly from side to side, indicating his answer was a firm 'no.'

"Ok, if I promise to take you out for ice cream later, will you show me your sparkles now?"

He proceeded to tuck his fist under his armpit and once again shake his head to the negative.

"Alright, that's it, kid!" With that, she grabbed him by the arm holding the diamonds and managed to free his hand from it's safe spot and began to pry it open, causing Parker to scream bloody murder in protest. She was careful not to hurt the boy of course, but the death grip he held onto his 'sparkles' with proved to be somewhat of a challenge for her to penetrate. Still, his undeterred determination to hold on was no match for her adult-level strength and he eventually lost the battle, and she was able to swipe them away and stash them in the cup of her bra, effectively sending him into the worst temper tantrum she had ever witnessed.

"I want my sparkles! Give me back my sparkles," he screamed incessantly in a demonic voice which paired well with the crimson shade of red his face had turned. She made several attempts to calm him, everything from putting in his favorite Disney movie 'Cars' to making that stupid elephant statue dance and 'talk' to him, but nothing worked.

"If you can hear me now, Xander," she spoke softly out loud, channeling her voice with the use of her hands toward the pendant hanging around her neck, "I'll have you know the racket you're hearing is the result of a five-year old boy being stripped of his three diamonds. You owe me big time for this one."

Her phone began to buzz in her hand. She peered into the screen to see a text message from 'Brandon." Well done! And yes, you will be handsomely rewarded for your pain and suffering!

She laughed again. God it felt good to laugh.

"What is all the ruckus going on here?"

"Maggie! Oh thank god you're here."

"Yes, thank god I'm here is right? What did you do to upset my grandson?"

"I WAAANT MY SPARKLES!"

"He wants his sparkles," Nicole simply stated, shrugging her shoulders. "He wants his sparkles and I wouldn't give them back to him."

"Sparkles?" Maggie looked at her as if she were the most incompetent person alive. In other words, Maggie gave her the usual look.

"I don't know, they were these little rhinestones he found, probably came from some of Melanie's jewelry or clothes, who knows. All I know was he kept putting them in his mouth so I confiscated them so he doesn't choke himself to death!"

"SHE PUT THEM WITH HER BOOBIES!"

Really, Parker? The kid that before could barely put a sentence together was now ratting her out in explicit detail.

"OK, you know what," Nicole said as she grabbed for her crutches and began to hobble her way toward the front door," obviously, my child-rearing skills don't meet your approval so I'm going to just shuffle on out of here. Have fun with the billy goat."

"Did you just call my grandson a billy goat?"

The look of complete disbelief and horror on Maggie's face was just too amusing to avoid her getting a chuckle out of it. "Yeah, I did. Oh, and Maggie, by the way...why don't you just fly back to Oz on your broomstick."

She laughed all the way to the elevator, but began to completely erupt into hysterics when the door closed and it began it's descent to the ground floor. She wasn't sure anymore if her laughter was a result of humor, relief, both...something else, but whatever it was, the release of emotion felt liberating.

When she got outside, she saw Xander was standing there leaning against the passenger side of her car, waiting for her with the hugest grin on his face. When he saw her, he immediately ran toward her, scooping her up into his arms and spinning her in circles, effectively demonstrating his elation with the successful completion of her task. She found she had thrown her arms around him, squeezing him unusually tight without even realizing she had done so. "We did it!"

"Well come on, let's see them! I heard they're hiding in your boobies!"

She started chuckling again as she unapologetically slipped her hand into her bra and retrieved the diamonds, letting them lay in her flattened palm for Xander to do as he pleased with them.

"Excellent. Now, we celebrate."

"Ah, a celebration, I like that," she replied with eyes twinkling so bright they put the diamonds to shame. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I thought we might have dinner and finally get around to that date we've been talking about. A real one, this time."

"OK, the date sounds fine, but what about my reward?"

"Well, I think you will find that the date and reward go hand in hand."

She wrinkled her nose at his suggestion. "My reward is dinner? Really?"

"Oh, your reward is so much more than dinner, which speaking of, we'll be late for if you don't get a move on."

"Xander, it's 7AM. I think I have plenty of time to get ready for dinner."

"Not when dinner is in Paris, love."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Paris

Nicole glanced at the cell phone in her hand, then frowned at Xander who was sitting across from her at a candlelit table of an outdoor bistro with a breath-taking view of the Eiffel Tower, all lit-up in it's usual after-dark, blazing glory.

"What's wrong, love," Xander asked, studying her face with eyes full of concern as he picked up the glass of red wine that had just been poured for him, preparing to propose a toast to their success.

"Well, according to my phone it is 11:47 which means they have exactly 13 minutes to put my dinner before me or you fail your mission of promising me a same-day dinner in Paris."

He began to chuckle, relieved to see her now smiling, clearly pleased with herself for causing him undue alarm. "Hey, I promised you dinner. I don't recall making this same-day guarantee you speak of."

"Maybe not in so many words, but when you tell somebody, 'get ready, I'm taking you to dinner,' there is an automatic assumption that said dinner is to take place the same day."

"Au contraire. Dinner is simply the final course of a twenty-four hour, three meal meal period which begins at the onset of breakfast. Since breakfast and lunch were provided on your flight here, that makes your next meal dinner regardless of actual time as long as it falls within the twenty-four hours which it clearly does."

She had to allow herself to smile. Trying to suppress it from spreading ear to ear actually made the muscles in her face ache. "Alright Xander Cook. I'll let you win this one. So tell me, now that I've brought it up, is it Cook? Kiriakis? What's the deal?"

"How about first we toast," he suggested, nodding toward her glass indicating his desire for her to follow his lead. Raising his glass, his eyes locked on hers and held her gaze through the flickering light. Perhaps he could have been swayed by the fact that he had been staring at her through an actual flame, but he chose to believe that every bit of this new found vibrancy and passion in her eyes came from the re-ignition of that burning flame deep within that powers every human being, but had long ago been extinguished in Nicole, leaving her to coast through life running in neutral for the last god-only-knows-how-many years. It had been easy for him to assess her state of being simply because everything he saw in Nicole he had seen in himself whenever he looked in the mirror for the past fifteen years and now, this new development was no different, only he had caught his first glimpse of signs of life when he stopped to examine the coffee stain on his shirt in the bathroom mirror on his way out of Club TBD the first day he arrived in Salem, the very same day he first met Nicole. "To us, and our first successful business venture and many more to follow."

Nicole raised her glass cooperatively but hesitantly, showing a great deal of uncertainty. "Xander, what exactly do you have planned for me? What are these future endeavors you speak of?"

"Don't worry love, no more diamond smuggling drama for you. I don't do any of the dirty work myself anymore, except maybe once in a while just for shits and giggles. This whole mess with Serena was simply tying up the loose ends of my last project before I moved up the ranks."

"OK, so then what?"

"Well, you asked if I'm a Cook or a Kiriakis, and I'm assuming you want to know so you can get started on those wedding invitations, correct?"

Oh thank god! Saved by the bell, she thought as the waiter set the plates of scrumptious-looking, authentic French cuisine before them. She glanced at her cell again. 11:59. He would have won the dinner debate anyway even if it weren't for his irresistible charm which initially forced her to concede. Unfortunately for her, the arrival of dinner didn't quite provide the distraction she was hoping for.

"I suppose officially it's Cook for now. It was a legal name change Uncle Victor 'strongly suggested' I make after I got myself into a little bit of trouble."

 _Ooooh, trouble! I like trouble! Trouble is something else to discuss besides marrying you!_ "What kind of trouble?"

"Oh, you know...the kind that can get you thrown in jail for the rest of your life."

Nicole studied him intently. Gone was approachable, lighthearted Xander that she had shared a flight and the better part of the evening so far with. There was a now a clear disturbance in his eyes as she put him on the spot, demanding details of this heavy burden he'd been carrying around for who knows how long.

"Well don't think you're going to shock me with whatever it is. We've already been through this. Former Kiriakis-slash-DiMera here."

"I know," he said offering a smile whose only purpose was for putting her at ease. "I'm sure it's nothing that both my uncle and EJ haven't done, it's just that I didn't do such a great job at covering it up. I made no attempt to cover it up, actually. Another classic case of my inability to control my temper."

"What did you do, kill somebody?"

He could only bring himself to nod in response. She could tell this was something that had been eating him alive, therefore leading her to the assumption that whatever happened was more personal than it was business-related and she tailored her line of questioning to follow that path. "Was this person a relative?"

"No, no," he began, shaking his head with exaggerated defiance which reeked of dishonesty to Nicole. "A botched heist was all it was. I was trying to distract this guy so my people could do what they had to do but he wasn't buying it. I got frustrated and nervous and I completely lost it. I ended up beating the guy to death at his own dinner party with my bare hands."

He was lying. It was so painfully obvious she found herself feeling disappointed in him. One thing was for certain, she was determined to get the truth out of him one way or another.

"Needless to say Uncle Victor was most displeased. He said I was a disgrace to the family name. He helped me out of my bind obviously, and all in all I only served six months as opposed to the life sentence I would have gotten if he hadn't intervened. I was so grateful for his assistance and a second chance that I did anything he asked of me in return, hence the name change. He was afraid if I screwed up again I'd tarnish the Kiriakis name."

This last part was true. It was amazing how easily she could read him, someone whom she barely even knew and who'd been purposely playing her every bit as cunningly as she'd been playing him. Of course one could say that obviously she wasn't that good at reading him if he'd managed to trick her, but the way she saw it now, she had allowed herself to be fooled. She knew all along not to trust his words, not all of them anyway, but she knew enough to trust in one thing which allowed her to continue the game: whatever happened, he wouldn't hurt her. He'd promised her that from the beginning when he took her captive, and reminded her his promise stood true during their phone conversation earlier in the day, but she had known it from the very beginning without needing verbal confirmation. She couldn't explain why he felt she deserved this pass that he surely didn't give the majority of people who crossed him; it couldn't be love, or even just plain and simple fascination, not so soon. Not without knowing a single thing about her. Perhaps it was a riddle never meant to be solved. _Or maybe you just don't want to consider the possibility that love-at-first-sight is real! Oh shut up Nicole! You and your dumb fairy tales! Xander is no Prince Charming, that's for sure, even if he can be rather charming at times._

"You know, I'm not buying it. I don't think you just killed this guy impulsively. If you're going to sit there and blame your bad temper for this then I don't see this being an isolated incident. Why'd you really kill the guy?"

Again, more exaggerated head-shaking. "Nicole, I don't know what you're getting at. That's precisely what happened."

"Why don't you want to tell me? Was it something more sinister? A case of you seeking revenge on somebody, kinda like what you're doing to Daniel right now? Or was it not even a man, but a woman...or a child?"

He was silent. She could see in his reflection she had touched a nerve somewhere, although his verbal response adamantly denied anything conflicting with his original story. "Nicole, I promise you, there is nothing more to tell."

She frowned at him, shaking her head disapprovingly. "We were doing so well there for a while. I was finally starting to feel like we were being real with each other, didn't you?"

"Do you mean to imply that you still feel I'm not telling you the truth?"

"I don't feel it, Xander. I know it. I don't know what it is you're hiding, but you are hiding something."

He withdrew the linen napkin from his lap and gave it a quick fold-over before tossing it on the table next to his near-empty dinner plate. "Alright, fine. You're right, I am withholding certain details about what really happened. If you want to know the true story, I will tell you BUT, I have to know I can trust you and the only way I know I can trust you is if you can honestly answer a question for me."

Nicole swallowed back the lump forming in her throat. She was afraid he would pull a stunt such as this, especially because he never seemed to want just the black and white facts of anything. He wanted her to share her feelings about things, her love interests, him...and if he was able to read her just as well as she could read him, this conversation wasn't going to go anywhere.

"How did you feel when you realized I tricked you into getting cuffed to that chair?"

She hadn't been prepared for that question at all. It seemed so odd for him to hone in on that when he pretty much could potentially get the true answer to something far more insightful.

"I don't know...scared, angry...defeated." _Good job, Nicole. You just failed that test miserably. The correct answer is: exhilarated, excited, and completely turned-on._

Xander frowned. "Just as I thought. I can see you're clearly not willing to share so why should I?"

"Hey, you're the one who wants something from me, remember? A little cooperation can go a long way."

"The only one here who needs to cooperate is you. Do we really need to revisit this, Nicole? We may have found the diamonds but your work is far from over and it's not conditional. You are to do exactly as I wish or little Sydney could find herself in quite the predicament."

"You wouldn't do anything to hurt her. You're so full of shit, Xander Cook."

"Is that really an assumption you're willing to make with so many unanswered questions about my past looming over your head? Perhaps my new video will enlighten you."

She grabbed the phone he handed her way and entertained him by watching the video of an unseen man trying to lure Sydney into his car with a stuffed, white Build-A-Bear wearing a pink tutu and ballerina shoes.

"Oh, no Xander! Xander, please don't hurt my precious little girl," she said mockingly, causing Xander's face to flare up bright red from his building rage, brought on by her humiliating but accurate assessment that he was about as harmless to the child as that teddy bear in the video.

"You better watch it, Nicole," he sneered, trying to desperately control his fury through clenched teeth. Great. His so-called leverage had just been rendered completely ineffective.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, come on, don't get all bent. I'm sure you can figure out another way to 'control' me. Come on, use your head. It's not that hard you know. All you have to do is think of something that's in it for me. What can I gain from helping you out with your mission?"

"Seriously? Are you going to make it this easy on me? What do you want?"

"I want you to make me an offer I can't refuse. It's no fun telling you what I want. I could screw myself royally if that turned out to be substantially less than what you're willing to give."

His temper had subsided and been replaced with all the eagerness and excitement of a little boy asked to make out his Christmas list for the first time of the holiday season, even if he wouldn't be the recipient of the requested gifts. The entry at the top of his list however proved to be a short, all inclusive one. "Then my answer is this: everything. I'll give you everything you want, money, a home, a child. I can make that happen for you."

Her eyes grew glassy with unreleased tears, contradicted by the elated smile which had spread across her face. "I know it's selfish, but I don't want to adopt. I-"

"Then we'll find a surrogate. The baby will be yours."

"And yours?" _Did I detect a note of hopefulness in that shrill little voice of yours, Nicole?_

Xander frowned. "Well, if that's what you want Nicole, then I won't refuse you your wish. I guess I didn't anticipate you'd even consider me to be the father. I'm not exactly the fatherly type, you know."

"You don't want kids? Is that what you're saying?"

"I never pictured myself being a dad, or even settling down for that matter. I really don't even like children."

Lying again. If she hadn't been able to see through it she would have taken the opportunity to run right then and there. He wouldn't hurt her, Sydney, probably not even Daniel or Eric if she were to just up and walk away right now. Strangely enough, this realization that all the threats he'd made were harmless only made her want to stay all the more and find out exactly what drove Xander Kiriakis to murder and a she was now willing to bet her life that somewhere along the line it involved a woman and a child.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Paris

"I can't believe you keep an apartment in Paris," Nicole said from her seat on the couch with a freshly-poured glass of wine in hand, as her eyes scanned in awe the expansive, and undoubtedly expensive, penthouse apartment which took up the entire top floor of what was inarguably one of the most architecturally stunning buildings in all of Paris.

"What's not to believe, love," Xander inquired, taking a seat next to her with the glass of scotch he decided on as his drink of choice. "Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, why wouldn't I want to make it my home?"

"Is this actually your home home?"

"One of them. I also keep places in Venice, London, Athens, New York, to name a few" he replied, unable to suppress a cocky smile while thoughts of Daniel Jonas trying to compete with that danced through his head. "I suppose if you want to know where my official home on paper is, it's Geneva but lately I've only been staying there when duty calls."

"I see. Then of course you came to Salem and saw the magnificent Horton Town Square and decided that there's nowhere else on Earth you'd rather be."

"Well, partly that's true, but it didn't have anything to do with the town square. In fact the only thing magnificent that could keep me in Salem is you."

 _Oh god, no. No no no, don't start this now, Xander. I don't think I have the energy left to resist you, not tonight._ She could feel that she was blushing as his eyes seemed to be surveying every inch of her body with great attention to detail, but it wasn't anything like the sleazy looks that she got from just about every man in any bar on any given night. There was a respectfulness about it which she likened to one standing in a museum admiring a piece of fine art. He made her feel admired and appreciated, rather than just some piece of meat for him to sink his manhood into. Lord knows he could have had his way with her so many times over the past couple of days, especially last night when they had gotten so close to going all the way, but once she had made it clear she'd changed her mind, he backed off graciously. Then again, she already knew he would. He had been prepared to pummel Angelo into the ground when she attempted to frame the poor guy for raping/fondling her-she never did say which, choosing to leave it up to Xander's imagination to decide. He would have killed one of his own men to defend her honor: could you get any sexier than that? OK, time to change the subject, Nicole. You're supposed to be thinking up reasons to not sleep with him tonight.

"Oh, come on now, Xander, that's not true! We both know the real reason you were sticking around is cuz you just missed Daniel so much!"

"Ah, yes, Daniel. Speaking of, any more messages from him today?"

"Oh, yeah well the latest was a text saying he's sorry for calling me an idiot and the whole debacle with Maggie was his fault because he should have known better than to leave Parker in my care."

"In other words, he could have gotten better care for his son from a teenage girl than the likes of you. What a jerk."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Whoa, hold on there, could you repeat that? Did I just actually hear you admit that Daniel is a jerk?"

"I know, shocking, right?"

"Very! I'm impressed, Nicole Walker. So when are we going to tell Daniel our happy news? It'll have to wait until we get back obviously. You know I wouldn't miss seeing the look on his face for the world!"

"Have you really thought about this? Forget about Daniel, how do you think Victor is going to take the news? Didn't you say he forbid you to even talk to me?"

"He did, but I think I can get him to come around to the idea. After all, if he thinks so lowly of you I can't see why you and Daniel were getting his stamp of approval. I'll simply convince him that I was only keeping Daniel's best interests in mind by diverting your attention away. I hope you're not offended by me using this angle because I assure you, it speaks nothing about how I feel about you."

"How do you feel about me, Xander?"

The question seemed to catch him completely off-guard, leaving him flustered and speechless until he found the only way he could answer her question was with another question. "What do you mean, how do I feel about you?"

"It's a pretty straight-forward question, don't you think? How do you feel about me?"

He rose from the couch without saying a word and walked toward the closed venetian blinds that she was certain were covering a sliding glass door leading to some kind of outdoor space offering an exclusive, breathtaking view of the city. Upon his opening of the blinds, she saw that she was right.

"Would you like to go outside," he asked as he slowly rolled the glass door open and inhaled a chest-full of crisp, cool air. "It's a bit chilly, but manageable."

"Couldn't be half as cold as it just got in here."

Xander closed his eyes and squeezed them tight as he slowly and steadily drew in another deep breath in attempt to calm himself down. He felt himself growing angry from the question, and he had no reason to be other than he just didn't care to disclose his 'feelings' for her, especially when he wasn't sure himself exactly what was going on in that thick skull of his. _You love her, you fool, that's what's going on._ No, it wasn't that. It couldn't be. Love, if such a thing truly existed, takes time, and patience, and trust and then, even when you're confident you'd established all of those things, there is never a guarantee it will last because there will always be that variable that things could change on a dime in your other half. That's why he promised he would never put himself in such a position again after Arianne. The woman nearly cost him his life, literally, if not by death from sheer heartbreak, then by life-long incarceration for sure. Every male member of his family had tried to warn him of the dangers of falling for a woman, especially when you were a member of the prominent Kiriakis family. His father before he passed and his uncle Victor both tried to teach him that love between a man and a woman was nothing more than a euphemism for desire, and once whatever you wanted or needed was achieved, be it from the man's or woman's perspective, then it was time to move on to the next, and the next, and reap what you could from them. Of course Arianne was supposed to be the rare exception to this rule, loving him and only him devoutly but in the end she proved to be everything they warned him she would be and worse. He would not make the same mistake with Nicole, but he could at least acknowledge that for the time being, he both wanted and needed her for reasons yet unknown. All he knew was the voice in his head admonished him daily to do everything in his power to keep her close and never let her go.

Things were looking pretty good on that horizon. She seemed to be on-board with marrying him, at least presently. He could use the pre-nup as a tool to discourage her from ever divorcing him and he was certain that he could offer her things that would dissuade her from even wanting to stray in the first place, at least for a while. Of course there was always the chance too that he might persuade her to see things his way and she might find that she shares the idea that love is just a silly, meaningless word and neither one of them ever has to say it and they could just live side by side, completely committed to one another and to raising their children together, happily-ever-after. _So basically, what you're saying is you want to be in love, and you want to have a baby, and you want to do it with Nicole_. _**Oh, shut the fuck up you! You don't know what the fuck you're fucking talking about! I am not falling in love again and I certainly don't want to do the baby thing again!** Oh, but you are! You already promised Nicole a child. If you back down on her now you'll lose her forever!_

"Xander?"

He hadn't realized she'd gotten off the couch and was now standing behind him. When he turned to face her, she was looking at him with such deep concern that it made his heart start pounding the walls of his chest as if it were trying to break free from this cell that he'd confined it to. _Kiss her, you fool._ He wouldn't say she was begging for it, but something in her eyes told him she would at least be receptive to the idea if he did. _Kiss her!_ Her lips appeared as if they were inching closer, but his brain was so overwhelmed with the screaming from his nagging conscience, thoughts of the past and worries over his future that he wasn't entirely sure which one of them was actually approaching the other or if either one was even moving at all. Their lips did eventually meet and he discovered that it was indeed him who was being the aggressor although after initial contact was made she kissed him back with every bit as much enthusiasm and desire. He only allowed himself to bestow a brief kiss, but it was probably the most meaningful embrace that he'd ever delivered in his life. In that thirty seconds or so, he had come to the realization that the kiss was his way of answering her question the only way he knew how.

The look of surprise on her face when he stopped prompted him to plant a reassuring peck on her forehead before completely walking away out onto the balcony which was so ridiculously large it could have yielded room for another whole apartment of nearly equal size. He immediately went to the waist-high railing and leaned into it with his arms resting on the top rails.

Nicole looked back at her crutches still propped up against the living room couch and groaned. She hadn't minded making the few hops to get where she was currently standing, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to press her luck venturing outside without them. Since her own personal taxi seemed to be otherwise occupied, she sighed deeply before hopping back to the couch to grab the crutches so she could walk somewhat like a normal person. While she was there, and sensing it might be needed, she also opted to grab the newly-opened bottle of scotch with Xander in mind.

"Hey, you," she said playfully as she jabbed him in the butt with the foot of one of her crutches, resulting in him whipping around in surprise to face her. "I thought you might like a drink. You know, after Miss Buzzkill over here went and ruined the mood."

His smile came easily and he reached out to graciously accept the bottle she was offering him with her best TV salesperson impersonation. "Thank you, and for the record, you didn't ruin anything, Nicole."

"Oh, come on, I totally did. It was just way too soon after a kidnapping to start asking you how you feel about me. Next time I'll at least wait until the third day."

He couldn't help but start laughing hysterically, partly from relief, partly out of graciousness to her for letting him off the hook, but mostly because she was atypically quick-witted and downright hilarious; just a few of the many traits which instantly drew him to her.

"Seriously though, you asked me a question and you deserve some sort of answer, even if it's only a fairly lame one." He paused for further prodding or comment but when he saw that she was already watching him intently in anticipation of his answer, he elaborated for her. "I don't know how I feel, or at least whatever it is, I don't understand it. Is that fair enough?"

"It's more than fair," she said with a comforting smile as she reached over and grabbed the bottle of scotch from his hand, pausing mid-sentence to take a swig. "I'd say it's a downright genius answer. If you had asked me, I don't know...on one hand I might have said I can't stand the sight of you but, since that would be an outright lie, the better answer would have been exactly what you said."

"We're like two peas in a pod, aren't we," he quipped as he playfully snatched the bottle of scotch back and took a couple long chugs. "Both completely wrecked from former loves."

"Ah-ha! So there was a woman once who was more than just some temporary muse. Tell me about her."

She watched in awe as his demeanor changed in an instant, as if this change were made by simply flicking a switch. The smile not only disappeared, it turned into a twisted frown which seemed to be pulling his mouth downward right from his face. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh come on, it'll do you some good. From what you've told me, it was long ago and far away and-"

"I SAID I DON"T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!"

His face was turning bright red with anger which he was still desperately attempting to keep under control. He didn't want to completely lose it in front of her again, but she had stop pushing. He hadn't spoken with anyone regarding Arianne or the incident except for uncle Victor who thankfully wished to avoid the subject whenever possible almost as much as he, and he wasn't about to start talking now.

"Did she have something to do with why you got in trouble? Is that why you don't want to talk about her?"

He approached her aggressively and for just a split second, she thought his hands were going for her throat. He certainly seemed angry enough to strangle her and as alarming as his festering rage was, she found herself more concerned for his well-being than hers. He wouldn't hurt her. She KNEW that. Instead of her neck, his hands planted themselves firmly on her shoulders while he leaned into her face to administer a stern warning. "This is your last warning to drop it, Nicole," he implored her through gritted teeth.

"You do remember what my occupation is, right? You can tell me what happened and I get to hear everything from your perspective, or I can just do some digging and find out on my own. Your call."

"How DARE you give me an ultimatum! Well here's one for you. Either you keep your nose out of my business, or I will see to it that every one of your precious little friends has a very bad year on account of you!"

"Really, Xander? You've moved on from Sydney and now you're back to threatening Eric and Daniel and whoever else I might say hello to? You won't do shit and you know what? I'm about to prove that cuz you can forget about everything. The deal is off and I'm going home, without you."

"LIKE HELL YOU ARE!" He had moved in front of her to block her path as she turned to go. His eyes were desperate, pleading for her to stay but the way she saw it, there was only one way she was going to crack through that thick shell of his and it involved some extreme tactics which would strip him of his ability to feel in control. As long as he felt in control of everything, there would be no reason for him to stray from what he knew. Desperate times call for desperate measures, as he himself had once said.

"What are you going to do, tie me to a chair? You better not because this time won't be like the last because this time, I won't enjoy it. So there...now you have the answer you were looking for earlier." She brushed past him, leaving him helpless to do anything but watch as she walked toward the door. He'd thought about doing just as she proposed; he certainly had all the supplies he needed on hand to keep her right where he wanted her, but he also knew she that this time she was very serious about wanting to leave and to keep her there against her will would be an atrocious violation of not only her trust but her faith in mankind in general as well.

She paused at the closed door and turned to him, flashing him a smile to go along with a very generous final offer. "I know there is a lot you already know about me, Xander. Things that I never chose to share with you. Obviously you know I can't bear children and I made some porn movies and since I don't recall us ever having those conversations, I know that one way or another, you found out everything you desired to know about me. Problem is, people have a way of slanting facts to suit their own opinions, so if I were you, I wouldn't believe everything I read. Do you want me to believe everything I read?"

They stood there for an indeterminable amount of minutes, locked in an intense staring competition where they silently challenged themselves to stand their own ground until one of them finally caved and either threw in the towel or conceded to the others wish. Her eye's pleaded with his just to open up and tell her while his pleaded with hers to just stop all of this nonsense about opening up. It was finally him who spoke, leaving Nicole completely on edge until the verity of his answer finally settled in.

"I'll have Georges pull the car around and come up to get your things. If you don't mind waiting around for me to file a flight plan for the jet I can probably have you on your way in an hour or so. Otherwise, you might be lucky and catch a commercial flight sooner. It's your call." He couldn't bring himself to look at her. He couldn't bear to see any hint of disappointment, frustration, sadness, whatever, knowing that he would be the cause of it. Worse yet, she could be smiling to finally be free of him which he really didn't wish to see.

"I'll take the ride to the airport, but then I'm done with you, and best of all, you can be done with me. You may think this is me celebrating my victory, but really it's you who has won, isn't it? Letting me walk away was a small price to pay for keeping that precious little secret of yours. And don't worry...I won't look it up. When I leave here, it will be like this whole thing never happened. It was pretty pointless to begin with anyway, don't you think? It was never meant to go anywhere."

He tried to say no, but the words just wouldn't come. He felt as if his feet were cemented to the floor as he helplessly watched her disappear into the elevator through his still open front door. He immediately ran to the balcony to watch for her exiting the building. He hadn't called for the car, nor could he bring himself to do so but it didn't seem to matter. He watched her hobble down the street on her crutches, carrying only her purse in an obvious attempt to flee the scene as quickly as possible with no particular destination in mind, made apparent by the fact that she was heading in the complete opposite direction of the airport. when she was no longer in sight, he completely lost it and started picking up pieces of his patio furniture, tossing it over the balcony to come crashing down on the streets below while wailing in agony like a desperate, wounded animal left in the wilderness to die.

The police were called when a couple walking down the street nearly met an untimely end from the wooden frame of a lounge chair which landed just a foot in front of them. When they arrived at his apartment door to arrest him, he was just a half a second away from pressing the send button on his phone to place the call to Nicole in which he would beg her for forgiveness and implore her to return. Instead, after posting his bail the next morning, he learned from Navidad after giving instruction to investigate that she had indeed returned to Salem safe and sound and was currently in her own apartment and alone.

"Still breaking hearts I see, Xander," Navidad had quipped in the beginning of her closing statement, ending with, "Although I must say I've never seen one cry quite like this one. Nice job."

He was a classic fool. All the while he'd only been trying to show her that she'd been wasting away her years with men who didn't deserve her, so what does he do? After all his efforts to put himself on a pedestal above them he only managed to become the next chap in a long line of losers who had either abused or disappointed her or a combination of the two. He couldn't do that to her, not again. There was no secret in the world worth keeping if it meant hurting the woman who you (love) care for very deeply. He flew into his living room and gathered up all their bags, including ones that Nicole in her haste to leave had left behind, and called for his car to pull around while he was already enroute to the elevator. He couldn't hop into the car fast enough, and had barked orders for his driver to bring him to the airport before the good lad even had a chance to get reseated behind the wheel. He opted not to file a flight plan for the jet figuring this time of day he would get a commercial flight much faster. He wasn't about to let time or anything else come between him and Nicole ever again. Of course until he discovered that some secrets, like the one he'd kept for so long, were actually much easier to share than others.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Nicole lay curled up on her side on her sofa beneath a plush, blue fleece throw blanket, gripping the tv remote in one hand and a soggy, well-used tissue in the other. On top of the coffee table directly in front of her sat her cell phone along with all the necessities for the chick-flick marathon currently airing: a box of kleenex which had already been put to good use long before the marathon began, a bottle of water, a bag of popped microwave popcorn, and a bag of M&Ms, with the latter three items yet to be touched. She didn't know why she fell under the grand illusion that such movies would help to take her mind off the entire Xander escapade. She only made it through a few minutes of Steel Magnolias before the tears started up again, triggered by the scene where M'Lynn tells all the girls at the beauty shop that her daughter Shelby can never have children. _And neither can you, Nicole so you may as well just forget it._

But she couldn't forget it. There wasn't a day went by that she didn't think about her son and daughter both. She spent countless numbers of minutes out of every single day envisioning what her babies would look like had they survived. Would her daughter look just like her, or would she have her father's dark hair but her blue eyes? Maybe her son would be a blonde like her. She would toy with the idea occasionally, but most often she pictured him being EJ's little clone, with hair, eyes, and facial features all a perfect match to his father. It was easier to imagine what her children would look like than it was imagining what she herself would look like. Of course she didn't expect much difference in her appearance aside from the fact that she would be smiling a while lot more than she did nowadays. She was more interested in wondering what the rest of her life would be like and, since this was all only imaginary anyway, a good portion of her fantasies depicted that EJ had never died and the two of them had managed to work things out and were completely committed to both each other and to raising their two beautiful children together. But he did die, and as much as she wanted to hate him for what he'd done to her, she was devastated. Even after all they'd been though, all the pain he'd caused her, he was still her best friend. Of course they'd barely spoken much at all his last two and a half years on earth, but that had been almost entirely her choice. If she had dared to reach out to him, he would have been there for her, for whatever she needed.

She had been so angry with herself for not trying to smooth things over sooner. Their last conversation had been almost pleasant and if she could have somehow managed to get past the nausea she felt seeing him and Sami together, she supposed they could have had the kind of friendship where she didn't feel discouraged to give him a ring whenever, drop by the mansion just to say hello, or meet for coffee once in a while and play catch-up. Sadly it was when seeking comfort for his death when she realized she needed him the most, until she saw the silver lining in it all which finally brought her peace: their children were no longer alone. They now had their father there to look after them.

She had pretty much given up on the idea that she would ever have a child of her own, even though she had come so close to carrying her little boy to term. She still couldn't wrap her mind around what had gone so terribly wrong causing her to lose him sometime around the 36th week. In fact, she had been so certain that she would be bringing her baby boy home from the hospital any day that she allowed herself to finally go out and splurge on clothes and toys; something that she had avoided doing until she was certain that her baby was going to live. _God was punishing you for keeping him from EJ, dummy, that's what happened._ At least that was the most feasible explanation since her doctor could offer none other than it just being some freak occurrence that happens once in a while without warning. One thing was for certain: there would be no more pregnancies for her. Not that she really had to worry much about getting pregnant since her sex life had become nearly non-existent. Her near encounter with Xander two nights ago was the closest she had come in a very long time.

Xander. At least her babies had helped to temporarily take her mind off of him and the fact that for a moment there last night, she had actually considered taking him up on his offer to make her a mother. Was she really that desperate for a child that she had nearly joined forces with a complete psychopath? _If he's such a psychopath, Nicole, why are you so disappointed every time you get a text and it's not from him?_ It was true, she'd been waiting for a text, phone call, anything from him. She wasn't sure why his almost complete non-reaction to her leaving bothered her so much. _Yes, you do know, you just don't want to admit that you wanted him to get on his knees and beg you to stay, especially since you knew he wanted you to. You could see it in his eyes._

Her phone vibrated the glass on her coffee table, indicating an incoming text. Her hand flew to the phone so she could flash the screen to her face and see who it was this time; her money was on Daniel. Yup. She had been avoiding him and everyone else trying to call or text her all day long. Apparently he was out of the hospital and back at work already and had made several attempts to track her down between stalking her apartment and favorite hang-out spots to calling everyone she knew to see if they'd heard from her. She couldn't help but chuckle thinking Xander probably got a couple of calls himself. She wondered what he might say to Daniel in response this time now that their deal was off. Judging by the context of his messages, including this latest one, Xander had not mentioned a thing.

 **Daniel**

 ** _I know you're home. I called your neighbor and she told me she can hear your tv on. I don't know why you can't at least just tell me you're ok, this silent treatment you're giving me is really juvenile. Anyway, we need to talk so I'm stopping by on my way home. Leaving the hospital now._**

 _Oh fuck me. God forbid you invite yourself over to his place but he can just show up here uninvited whenever he wants to. and to what? Lecture you about your behavior? No, uh-uh, not this time._ "Alright, Daniel. You want an answer, I'll give you an answer." She got as far as typing:

 _ **You know what, now is not a very good time. I rea-**_

Then the doorbell rang. _Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me! Already?_ "Hang on," she said all bothered as she grabbed her crutches which laid propped up on the arm of the sofa and exhaled deeply as she pulled herself up, then proceeded to grumble all the way to the door. She flung it open violently, hoping to relay the message right off the bat that she was not in the mood for him and his-

Then she saw the dozen red roses staring her in the face. Although the presenter of the flowers was using them to shield his face from her, by his dress and height she could immediately detect that it was most definitely not Daniel. Slowly, the mystery man began to lower the bouquet to reveal his identity even though she already knew exactly who it was and had already begun to smile as a result despite herself. "Xander," she finally managed to squeak out. "What are you doing here?"

Although his appearance was a bit haggard, looking tired and stressed on top of the fact that he hadn't changed clothes or shaved since she last she saw him, he appeared to be every bit as happy seeing her as she was to see him. He dropped to his knees, just as he'd done in her fantasy, extending the bouquet of roses to her to either accept or decline. She accepted, causing her smile to broaden all the more. His eyes were full of sincere remorse while he delivered his heart-felt plea. "I've come to put a stop to me making the biggest mistake of my life. That is, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, Nicole Walker. I'll tell you everything you want to know, just give me the chance."

He took her free hand in his and drew it to his lips, proceeding to kiss the back of it with just as much meaning as he'd apply to one on the lips. He kept her hand pressed to his face, refusing to let his lips leave her flesh as he took several long breaths, inhaling deeply per each one to soak up every note of her irresistible scent so that he could never forget it in the event that she might decide to banish him from her life forever. But she wouldn't do that. He could see in her eyes that he was already as good as forgiven. Perhaps it was possible that she found that she needed him every bit as much as he realized he needed her.

"I'll forgive you on one condition: You assure me that the terms of our agreement as we discussed have not changed and, you will help me out with something that needs immediate attention." _Good girl, Nicole. Make it all about business. You want that baby. He can make that happen, he promised you._

"Of course, nothing has changed, except for the fact that I've learned my lesson and I will be more cooperative" he said as he rose to his feet, giving her his undivided attention all the way. "That said, what is it that you need my help with right now, love?"

"Well, you see, I have this guy that I've been seeing a while, off and on for like the past two and a half years, and it's recently been brought to my attention that he's nothing but a jerk so I've decided to finally send him packing but, being the evil little bitch that I am, I was hoping to do it in a more dramatic fashion than just simply saying goodbye."

"Ah, I see," he replied with a mischievous grin to match hers creeping across his face. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, as a matter of fact he's on his way over. Why don't you come inside and get comfortable and I'll show you."

The sultry tone of her voice paired with the seductive smile made her intentions for what kind of assistance she desired clear. Seeing she had her hands full between flowers and crutches, and just because he knew it would get them inside a whole lot quicker, he relieved her of her crutches by sweeping her off her feet into his arms, letting them fall to the floor where they were left to remain while he carried her inside with the bouquet of flowers cradled in her arm.

"We'll just leave the door unlocked," she quipped with a wink which sent a a wave of excitement through him as he sat her down on the couch. "And a little soft rock playing on the radio should mute out the sound of the doorbell, don't you think?"

He took her statement and her nod in the direction of the stereo as his cue to perform the task. He successfully located the soft rock channel, turned up the volume a notch, and took the liberty of dimming the lights to a soft, romantic glow before returning to her side. "Now you can't go wrong with Air Supply. If Daniel comes in when this song is still playing then he'll have to know I fully intended to ravage you. You are aware that Air Supply is the mans go-to, I-plan-on-getting-laid-tonight music?"

"Who said you were getting laid tonight?"

He immediately began to turn beet red and started to stammer, struggling to come up with a quick explanation. "I, uh, only m-meant that's what you'd want D-Daniel to believe."

"Well, as long as we're clear. After all, "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All,' is all we'd be doing, right? Now hurry up and sit down." He did just as asked with all the willing obedience of a newbie private to his drill sergeant on the first day of basic training. She had to admit she was rather enjoying his subordinacy. Once he was in the desired position, she climbed on top of him facing him, straddling his body between her knees. Without saying a word, she unexpectedly stripped off her shirt leaving her topless aside from the aqua blue, lace-trimmed bra she wore.

He sat there in a trance, completely mesmerized by both her beauty and what was unquestionably the most erotic moment of his life by far.

"Are you gonna just sit there frozen like a popsicle, or or you gonna put your hands on me?"

"I was only waiting for your permission, love."

One arm slid around her waist while his other went for her shoulders, causing her to dive right into the position she knew he was going for. Her upper body collapsed into his the same moment her lips had reached their intended target, and there was a ferocity to her kiss which instantly sent a wave of blood rushing into his manhood provoking an immediate erection. Her fingers began working themselves through the openings in his shirt while his hands found their way to her bra, undoing the hooks every but as effortlessly as her hands ripped his button-down shirt wide open. She pulled away momentarily, offering him some time to admire her bare chest while she aided him in sliding his shirt off the rest of the way. In doing so, he could feel her push up on her knees slightly allowing her to position her breasts within reach of his mouth which immediately began to seek after them. As he inched closer, she would inch back, teasing him to the point where if he wanted a taste he was going to have to take control and get it. His hands went to her lower back to pull her to him using just enough firmness to hold her right where he wanted her, finally allowing his mouth to sample what he craved. She threw back her head, gasping and moaning in ecstasy from every suck and flick of his tongue on one of her body's most sensitive spots.

And this was exactly how Daniel Jonas discovered them.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Daniel," Nicole exclaimed with mock surprise that was obvious only to Xander as she immediately threw one arm across her chest to shield her bare breasts while her other arm began feeling around behind her to locate the blue and green striped tank top she'd tossed somewhere in that direction just a short while ago.

"Looking for this," Daniel's voice inquired from behind as he reached over her head to dangle the wrinkled-up top before her face. "Or perhaps you might like to put your bra on first. I think I see it peeking out from under Xander's shirt over there."

"Daniel, I can explain," Xander piped up, ready to come to bat in Nicole's defense like any good partner would. "This is all my fault. I-"

"No, honey, don't."

Nicole had interrupted him, holding a finger to his lips to quiet him first before leaning in to plant a soft kiss to his lips which completely took his breath away from both sheer shock over the gesture and her choice of nickname for him. Honey. It had a nice ring to it. He liked it.

"Let me do the talking, OK," she said with the wink of an eye after backing away and reaching for the shirt Daniel ended up tossing onto the seat next to them. "You know, you really should knock before you come barging into someone's place, Daniel," Nicole scolded as she pulled her shirt back over her head before dismounting Xander's lap. "You sure don't like it when I show up unannounced or let myself in."

"Yeah, well I texted you all day long without getting an answer and then I get here and see your crutches lying next to your front door and I thought that maybe something awful happened. CLEARLY I WAS WRONG! EXCUSE THE HELL OUT OF ME FOR BEING CONCERNED!"

"Why start concerning yourself with me now, Daniel? I mean, are you really that surprised? Did you think I was going to wait forever for you to come around? I've done nothing but be loyal to you and only you for at least the entire past year and all you ever do is shut me down and deny me your affections. You won't call me your girlfriend and you sure as hell don't treat me like one, so why the hell do you feel like you're entitled to dictate what I do or who I see?"

"I was trying to build something meaningful with you, Nicole, but all you seemed to want to do was try to get me in bed all the time! "

"Meaningful? Since when have you ever shown me that I mean anything more to you than just somebody to spend your free time with, which is basically whatever is left of it after you make your rounds with every one else!"

Xander studied the scene as if observing the behaviors of a fascinating new species of wild animals. Nicole was up in Daniel's face now, growing teary-eyed from hurt and frustration as she fought to defend herself. If circumstances had been different and she was still under the illusion that Daniel was the best thing that had ever happened to her and remained a reluctant participant in his plan for revenge, he would have stepped in right then and there and put a stop to Daniel's self-righteous yammering with a few swift jabs to his smart-ass mouth. The only reason he didn't was because Nicole needed to do this for herself, and she wanted to. She told him that when she took control of setting up the situation, and reassured him with the wink of her eye and her eagerness to pass the two of them off as a viable couple, hence her use of the term 'honey." He could already see signs of her confidence strengthening from simply acknowledging Daniel's abusive behaviors aloud. It was very therapeutic for her so he refrained from interfering the best he could even though it took an enormous amount of restraint requiring extremes such as him sitting on his tightly clenched fists in order to prevent them from starting to swing away at Daniel's fat head involuntarily. It was Nicole's time now. He could deal with Daniel later so long as he didn't cross the line.

"You wanna talk about making your rounds? So let's see, in addition to me there is Brady, Rafe, Eric, and now, Xander. I realize you like to call them your 'friends' but why is it that all your dearest 'friends' just happen to be male, hmm? All you know how to do Nicole is go from one, to the next, to the next, until you can figure out which one you can get to fuck you next. Kinda like Misty Circle. Your daddy would be so proud!"

Although he had yet to discover the full implications of Daniel's words, all Xander had to know was that he didn't like the sound of what was said one bit. He would have pulverized him with or without Nicole being privy to the comment but since it had been muttered with the clear agenda of inflicting emotional turmoil, Xander's already simmering rage finally reached it's boiling point, and with one determined lunge, he leaped from his sitting position on the couch and literally flew into Daniel with his body going completely airborne until he landed on top of him on the ground. His fists started flying with no sense of control as they found Daniel Jonas' face again and again as their target.

"Xander! Oh my god, XANDER STOP!"

He could hear Nicole pleading with him to show mercy and part of him wished to comply simply to please her. The scene was becoming quite grotesque now that he was wearing Daniel's blood like war paint from it splattering all over him as his fists continued to pound a surely broken nose and busted mouth with some knocked-out teeth.

"XANDER, STOP IT!"

She was on his back now, trying her best to tame his flailing arms with hers, relentlessly pleading for him to stop. And then it felt like something hit him from behind. At first he wondered if it was Nicole. Maybe she had hit him with something in an attempt to disrupt the attack, but what could it be? It didn't hurt and there was no physical pain of any sort. It was more like a force that just came from behind and thrust him forward with supernatural strength.

 _"XANDER! STOP IT! YOU'LL KILL HIM!"_

The shrieking woman's voice sent chills up his spine. It was no longer Nicole's voice he was hearing; it was Arianne.

 _"XANDER! YOU'VE GOT TO STOP! I DON'T THINK HE'S BREATHING!"_

But he didn't stop, he couldn't stop, and it was no longer Daniel Jonas' face he was pummeling either.

 _"XANDER! HE'S YOUR BEST FRIEND, AND HE DIDN'T DO IT, OK? HE DIDN'T DO IT. I LIED TO YOU BECAUSE I WANTED TO SAVE OUR RELATIONSHIP!_ "

He remembered that it had been that revelation that jolted him from the vicious attack fifteen years ago, only by that time it was already too late. Brendan was dead.

"Xander, come on. Let's get you up on the couch."

It was Nicole again. Arianne and Brendan, were gone back to the past where they belonged and it was only Nicole, himself, and a bloody but thankfully still breathing, although unconscious, Daniel Jonas. He followed her obediently where she beckoned him as if he was under her spell, plopping down on the precise spot of the couch cushion that she patted with her hand.

"Take deep breaths, OK? Try to calm down."

She spoke every bit as soothingly as the fingers that tickled the back of his neck, with each digit creating it's own unique semi-circular pattern on his balmy flesh. He wasn't instantly sure if she was genuinely concerned for his well-being over Daniel's, but her next move made her feelings out to be crystal clear. She reached inside his jacket and retrieved his cell phone from one of the inner pockets and began tapping at the screen determinedly before raising the phone to her ear.

"Who are you calling?" He inquired with alarm, finally snapping from his daze.

"I'm calling the only person who can get you out of this mess."

Xander was left to stare helplessly as he tried to imagine in a million years whom she might be calling. Of course it couldn't be that difficult to determine considering she only knew a handful of his contacts and their relationship to him. He could only pray that she wasn't calling who he feared. _Oh well, pray a little harder next time!_

"No, no, I'm afraid it's not Alexandros! Who's your favorite ex-wife?"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT," Xander could hear the unmistakable voice of his uncle Victor barking out of the receiver, prompting him to shake his head and groan from his mounting anxiety.

"Well, uh, I'm calling for Alexandros because he is taking a bit of a time-out right now."

"For God sakes woman! Will you stop talking in circles and just tell me what the hell is going on! What the hell are you doing with my nephew anyway? I told him to stay away from you but since he doesn't care to listen, I'm giving you the same warning."

"Weeell, it'd be kinda hard to stay away from myself, but-"

"Oh, spare me the witty comebacks and answer my question."

"OK, look," she conceded, suddenly shifting to business mode. "Xander needs your help. There's been a little bit of a situation here we might need some help cleaning up."

"WHAT KIND OF SITUATION?"

"Victor, please, just come to my apartment, ASAP. Believe me, I would NOT be calling you if it wasn't important. I've already had my fill of insults today."

"In that case, I'll be sure to come prepared. Maybe a few more will do you in for good."

"Are you coming?"

"This better be important!"

"It is. Thank you."

"Why did you do that," Xander asked though the question was more curious than it was accusatory. Did she actually, genuinely care what happened to him on account of his behavior? _Of course she does, fool. Who else would put up with your big, fat hot-head._ She had already deserted him after ending the call with Victor so she could go and check on Daniel. While on her knees on the floor at his side, he watched her tugging at his eyelids with her thumb as she called out his name.

"What else did you expect me to do? You don't want to go to prison for killing another man, do you? Daniel needs help and if he doesn't get it who knows what might happen."

"I'm sorry, Nicole. I'm sorry you had to see that. It's just that he made that comment about you, and-"

"Which comment?"

"When he called you by your porn name. It was obviously meant to degrade you, and-"

"And that bothered you? It didn't seem to bother you so much when you chose to rub my former film career in my face."

"I'm sorry," he offered sincerely, squeezing his eyes shut tightly as he tried to shake the unpleasant memory from his brain. "I was just mad and-"

"Yeah, well perhaps Daniel was just mad too. Does that give him an excuse?"

"No. No, it doesn't."

"So tell me, what was your initial reaction when you found out I had been in pornos?"

He wasn't sure if she was refusing to face him on purpose or if she was truly intent on monitoring Daniel's condition until Victor could arrive. Either way, he was screwed. He was going to have to answer honestly without the benefit of searching her eyes for clues on how to proceed.

"Well, to be completely honest, I was a little turned on. Surprised as well I suppose since you didn't instantly strike me as the promiscuous type, although I did get the impression you'd be a wildcat in the sack."

"Well, that was a refreshingly honest answer for you. So what was your guess regarding why I decided to become a porn star?"

"I figured you probably used the money to put yourself through college. Nicole, honestly, I don't have any unfavorable opinions about you because of it. I really don't care that you were in them, and I don't care what your reason was for doing it."

"So you don't know."

He couldn't help but noticed she sounded relieved, and dare he say, happy, to hear his response.

"In that case you do get a pass. Daniel doesn't."

"Nicole, what's going on? Am I missing something here?"

"I'll tell you another time. Believe me, tonight is not the night to get into that and, besides, you owe me an answer from Paris and I'm not letting you off the hook that easily. Especially after that little episode of yours."

"Of course you're referring to this whole Daniel thing?"

"No. Actually I'm referring to the Arianne and Brendan thing."

If she'd been looking at him he was sure she'd think he'd just seen a ghost. "I thought you promised you wouldn't do any checking on me!"

"I did, and I kept my promise," she said as she turned to him to offer him the assurance in her eyes she knew he was seeking. "I was just wondering who they were and why you were screaming out their names just now because I bet it has everything to do with my question."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"OH MY GOD! DANIEL! WHAT IN GOD'S NAME JUST HAPPENED HERE?"

Nicole and Xander exchanged nervous glances between his spot on the couch and hers seated next to a severely battered and still unconscious Daniel on the floor as they individually struggled to come up with some sort of explanation for a very exasperated Victor Kiriakis. It was a minor detail they'd failed to discuss while waiting for the old man to arrive. Their failure to answer in a timely manner prompted Victor to start barking out his typical barrage of questions and accusations.

"ALEXANDROS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE WITH NICOLE AND WHY IS MY GODSON LYING ON THE FLOOR IN A POOL OF BLOOD? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

"Uncle, please. I can ex-"

Xander had just begun his desperate plea for his Uncle's forgiveness and compassion before Nicole promptly interrupted him to address the more pressing issue at hand. "Victor, there's no time for grilling Xander right now. We need to get Daniel to the hospital ASAP. He's still breathing but it's growing shallow."

"WELL I HAD ASSUMED THE TWO OF YOU HAD ALREADY DONE THAT! DID YOU REALLY NEED ME HERE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DIAL 911?"

"OK, can you keep your voice down," Nicole hissed at him in a hushed voice of her own. "Must you scream and yell at all times? How can we simply call 911 and explain what happened here without Xander getting arrested?"

"IT'S SIMPLE," he began in his usual shout, completely ignoring Nicole's request as she suspected he would. "ALEXANDROS, GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! GO BACK TO THE MANSION AND LAY LOW UNTIL I GET HOME."

"Uncle, I'm not leaving Nicole here-"

"DON'T YOU WORRY ABOUT NICOLE! BY THE LOOKS OF IT SHE'S THE REASON YOU'RE IN THIS MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE. HAVE YOU NOT LEARNED A DAMN THING IN THE LAST FIFTEEN YEARS?"

"VICTOR, PLEASE," Nicole screamed back, figuring the only way to get through to him was to speak at his level. "I'M DIALING 911 NOW. TELL ME WHAT TO SAY!"

Victor stormed toward her and ripped the phone from her hand just in time to personally address the operator on the other end. "YES, THIS IS VICTOR KIRIAKIS., I NEED AN AMBULANCE SENT HERE AT ONCE. I JUST WALKED IN ON MY GOD SON AND HIS GIRLFRIEND GETTING ATTACKED. THE ATTACKER GOT AWAY AND MY GODSON HAS BEEN BADLY BEATEN."

Since Victor had taken on the task of evaluating Daniel as he continued his exchange with the 911 operator , Nicole seized the opportunity to slither away and join Xander who was in the midst of putting his shirt back on. "You have to hurry up and get out of here," she said, attempting to help speed along the process by pulling his shirt closed with intentions of buttoning it for him only to be reminded that, thanks to herself, the buttons were now scattered somewhere within the limits of her living room. They laughed simultaneously as her fingers searched the front of his shirt in vain and the sounds of their shared amusement over the situation prompted their eyes to meet where they became entranced with one another as each one silently searched the other's eyes seeking some sort of explanation for whatever it was they were feeling inside. Each one came to the same conclusion that, whatever it was, the feeling was mutual.

"I don't want to leave you," he whispered into her ear after he'd grabbed her unexpectedly, hugging her with all the passion of one saying goodbye to a loved one for an indefinite amount of time and, considering his behavior tonight, he imagined that was exactly what he was doing, and it wouldn't necessarily be by choice.

She savored the precious few seconds of the embrace that she could allow. His strong arms wrapped protectively around her felt like the snuggliest blanket she'd ever known and she she would have loved nothing more than for him to stay so she could cuddle up and fall asleep with him holding her just like he was now. The thought if it was insane, but she couldn't ignore what her heart was trying to communicate it wanted.

"Don't worry about me. I can handle this and I can handle Victor. You have to go. Now," she said, pushing him away with urgency as her ears picked up the faint sound of sirens approaching. "You better use the stairwell and go out one of the side doors. GO NOW!"

He grabbed her by the back of the head and pulled her toward him to plant a quick kiss to her forehead before bolting out the door. He wanted to do and say so much more and he tried to convey as much using his eyes with one final glance into hers, but the sounds of the sirens were fast approaching leaving him no other option than to make a break for it. He felt like a complete coward leaving her behind to clean up the mess he created, but he also knew that if he stuck around there was no way he could evade suspicion for committing the act even if they came up with a good story. He couldn't take the risk of being thrown in jail again, his only reason being that it would prevent him from seeing Nicole. The one comforting thought was he knew she could handle it. He'd seen her work and had fallen victim to it himself. She was a professional bullshitter and was amazingly unintimidated by his uncle Victor which completely baffled the mind. She didn't dare challenge Daniel or Eric but with Victor, whom he'd personally declared the most intimidating man on earth, she had no problems whatsoever going toe-to-toe with him. He supposed it was simply a case of the comfort one feels when they're surrounded by their own kind. Nicole was a natural fit in the Kiriakis clan, and he still intended to soon make her place in the family fold official.

The paramedics soon arrived along with the police and Nicole worked her magic, effortlessly conjuring up fake tears to go along with the completely fabricated horror story about the intruder who broke in and attacked Daniel as he ventured into the living room to investigate a suspicious noise. Of course she couldn't call for help because by the time she got to the phone, Daniel's attacker had turned his attention to her and held her in a choke hold at gunpoint. If it hadn't been for Victor showing up when he did, who knows what would have become of the both of them.

The story would work long enough until Daniel could wake up to tell his own version which Victor would try to convince him to keep himself and leave Xander's punishment for the act up to him. She wasn't exactly sure what kind of 'punishment' Victor had in mind, but Xander was his nephew. How bad could it be?

"I WANT YOU TO STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM MY NEPHEW," Victor sternly admonished her after corralling her into a deserted private waiting area in the hospital and shutting the door securely behind them.

"What's the matter, Victor? Jealous? Do you miss me?"

'THE ONLY TIME I MISS YOU IS WHEN I'M BORED AND FEEL LIKE BELITTLING SOMEONE FOR AMUSEMENT. BELIEVE ME, IT'S THE ONLY REASON I KEEP YOU ALIVE."

"So what if I don't stay away from Xander? Then what?"

"THEN I'LL DO WHAT I HAVE TO DO TO MAKE SURE IT HAPPENS!"

"Is that a threat? It sure sounds like one since there's really nothing short of killing me that you could do to keep me away."

"DON'T TEMPT ME, BITCH!"

"You know, it's funny. You didn't object this strongly to me seeing Daniel. Why is that?"

"BECAUSE UNLIKE MY NEPHEW, I KNOW DANIEL WILL EVENTUALLY COME TO HIS SENSES ABOUT YOU! ALEXANDROS ON THE OTHER HAND REALLY KNOWS HOW TO SNIFF OUT AND FALL FOR THE CHEATING WHORES WHO END UP HAVING HIS ASS THROWN IN JAIL! I WON'T LET YOU SINK YOUR CLAWS INTO MY NEPHEW AND I'LL TAKE WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY TO KEEP IT FROM HAPPENING. TAKE THAT AS YOU WISH!"

He stormed out of the room and into the open elevator across the hall, taking it down to the ground floor. He walked outside through the main entrance and into his waiting car parked curbside. He sighed deeply as he withdrew his phone and placed a call to his oldest and most trusted henchman. "Yeah, it's me. I have a problem I need you to take care of."

"Consider it done."

"You remember that package I had Alexandros pick up here and deliver to Greece a couple years back?"

"You mean the boy?"

"Yes. I need you to relocate him as a precaution and if Alexandros ever questions you about him, you are to claim you know nothing, got it?"

"Of course. Has something happened, sir?"

"Not yet, but I'm going to make it never does. As long as I can manage to keep Alexandros away from his mother."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Xander sat on the white wicker bench in the courtyard amidst the Kiriakis mansion, grasping his cell phone in one hand and a bottle of scotch, his drink of choice, in the other. Although the area was equipped with adequate lighting fixtures to illuminate it at night, he opted to sit there in total darkness as his brain replayed the events of the past three months over and over again, with each repeated episode beginning at exactly the same spot: the first time he laid eyes on that beautiful, clumsy creature who spilled boiling hot coffee all over him.

He smiled each time that the scene began, remembering how completely adorable Nicole was, profusely apologizing to him for being such a klutz. He didn't think too much of it at the time, after all he would have done the same had their roles been reversed but, looking back now, he also realized she probably would have apologized to him in that scenario too. It was observations such as this which prompted him to beat Daniel Jonas within an inch of his life this evening.

Daniel was a classic example of a verbal/psychological abuser. These types were typically well-to-do professional people who were highly regarded in the community who used their status as a way to control their victims. Their 'partner' is expected to live up to the same high standards but find themselves under constant scrutiny for every single thing they do which ends up never being quite good enough. It leaves one to wonder why a person would allow themselves to fall victim but sadly most don't even realize what's going on until a concerned family member, friend, or acquaintance intervenes because they are made to feel lucky that someone who is so well-respected has invested in them, no matter how much they continue to fuck up. A person's susceptibility to fall victim is usually deeply rooted in their upbringing and based on Daniel's comment, the one that triggered his long overdue ass beating, Nicole never stood a chance. Of course the remark about 'making her daddy proud' could be taken several ways but, taking what he already knew for fact about her other relationships into consideration, it was fairly safe to assume that her father had fostered these feelings of inferiority.

Still, as much as Daniel deserved what he got in his opinion, Nicole had to be completely horrified by his uncontrollable rage, as was he. He actually didn't want to kill the guy, and not just because uncle Victor would have his head; he needed to be shown his treatment of Nicole was unacceptable, yes-but he didn't deserve to die. Not like he thought Brendan did.

Killing his best friend had been no accident, but it turned out to be a tragic mistake when he later learned Brendan was in fact innocent of his accused crime. He had not raped Arianne as she initially claimed in a desperate attempt to explain why the paternity test Brendan demanded be performed on the baby he thought was his proved that he wasn't the father. She had been so desperate to hold onto him, or his money he should say, that she lied about the affair and cried rape to cover up the fact that she'd been sleeping with his best friend for well over a year. He believed her of course; he had no reason not to. The three of them had pretty much known each other for all their lives and not one of them would dare to just make such a thing up, or so he thought. It was the kind of thing that was too awful to not be true. If only he'd given Brendan the chance to defend himself, he was sure at the very least his defense would raise enough doubt to stop him from pummeling him into the ground, or the bed he should say. Brendan had been sleeping when he arrived, straight from the hospital immediately after hearing Arianne's tearful explanation regarding the unexpected paternity results of the little boy believed to be his son that he'd already fallen head-over-heels in love with. His friend barely had the chance to speak before he was knocked unconscious, but the few words he did manage to say haunted him every day of his life since. "I'm so sorry. I love you, man. You're like a brother to me."

And they were like brothers in just about every way except by blood. They grew up in the same home even. When he was about two years old, Brendan's mother had been hired in as a live-in servant for the Kiriakis family, mainly tasked as the main cook, but she also often watched over him and her own son, who naturally resided with her, alongside his designated nanny. They were the same age almost, with Brendan being the younger of the two by a mere four months. They did everything together until it grew time for them to spread their wings and venture out on their own. He was determined to follow in his father's footsteps while despite his generous offer to bring him into the family business, Brendan preferred to pursue his dreams of becoming the greatest drummer ever in the greatest band in all history of rock and roll. No, not the Beatles. His band. They remained close but the life stlye differences as well as his developing relationship with Arianne left them little opportunity to see each other on a regular basis since he spent much of his time away from Scotland learning new skills and trades around the globe under the direction of his uncle Victor. Of course all this time away from home was what fostered this whole mess in the first place but since the death of his father, he was desperate to do his father proud by taking charge to preserve the dynasty he had built. Part of this was establishing a family of his own to make sure the family name would be carried on for generations to come but even though this was in his plans for the future, Arianne's pregnancy had taken them both by surprise. He wanted to do everything the right way; a respectable courtship first, followed by a grand proposal, a lavish wedding, then finally a baby, the first of at least two: one girl, one boy, of course. He hadn't yet made it to step two. Only in hindsight was he able to see that her unplanned pregnancy was not a result of his carelessness when he thought he'd been so careful, but Brendan's.

Arianne had tried to stop him. She fled the hospital while she was still admitted, taking time only to change out of the hospital gown into her own clothes before rushing after him to confess for fear of what he'd do to Brendan but, by the time she got there, the only thing she managed to stop was his fists continuing to fly. Brendan was already dead. When she confessed to lying about the rape, she took everything he thought he knew about life and love and ripped the pages containing that lesson from his brain in one hand while her other grabbed hold of his heart and tore it to shreds with the revelation that she hated him for what he'd done because she was in love with Brendan, not him, and her son was now without a father.

Never again he'd vowed himself from that moment on, and had promised his uncle Victor the same as restitution for bailing him out. In his fifteen years since the incident, not once had he met anyone who could even come close to changing his mind and he'd grown rather confident that he never would. And then Nicole came along and turned everything upside down 'til he didn't know which end was up anymore. He honestly couldn't make sense of his own thoughts since he found he was contradicting himself left and right where Nicole was concerned. He didn't want to be with her or commit to anything serious, or so he at least tried to convince himself, yet he couldn't stay away. He wanted to show her she deserved so much better than Daniel or any man she'd ever been with yet he'd treated her horribly himself, and why? Because he was so desperate to hold onto her without having to divulge his true feelings in order to protect the little bit of heart his body had managed to regenerate from being destroyed again. And now, he'd nearly killed Daniel defending her honor just as he'd intended to do for Arianne, but would she really see it that way? _Well, she did single-handedly take charge of bailing your sorry ass out of trouble. What more proof do you need?_ Then there was that glance they'd exchanged just before he left. She was a bit shaken, but she at least didn't appear to be completely horrified by what he did. In fact, she'd seemed almost grateful and eager to show her appreciation for the gesture in some physical form. But if all this were true, why wasn't she calling back.

He'd been texting and calling, calling and texting like some obsessive stalker for over two hours now. All he wanted to hear was that she was alright. whatever else may happen as a result of his actions, so be it. Not that he was at all prepared to just throw in the towel and walk away, but one thing was for certain:he didn't want to do anything to scare her or pressure her or back her into a corner. He was not going to be another one of 'those men' in her life all because he didn't know how to deal with these feelings he had for her.

"ALEXANDROS! GET THE HELL IN HERE!"

His uncle Victor's booming voice unexpectedly slicing through the silence made him jump nealry six feet off the ground while his body remained in it's sitting position. he quickly jaunted inside as ordered, anxious to find out one piece of information only: where was Nicole.

"YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY TO HEAR HE'S GOING TO LIVE AND MAKE A FULL RECOVERY! EVEN IF HE CHOOSES TO TURN YOU IN YOU SHOULD AVOID SERVING ANY TIME!"

"How is Nicole holding up?"

"YOU DON'T NEED TO WORRY YOURSELF WITH NICOLE, DAMN IT! I TOLD HER TO STAY AWAY FROM YOU AND I'M TELLING YOU THE SAME!"

"Well, it's a little hard staying away from myself, uncle."

"DON'T BE A SMART ASS WITH ME. AND GOD, HOW MUCH TIME HAVE YOU SPENT WITH HER, YOU'RE STARTING TO SOUND JUST LIKE HER. YOU BETTER BE CAREFUL, SHE CHARGES BY THE HOUR, YOU KNOW!"

"You better watch yourself, uncle," Xander snarled through gritted teeth. That's precisely how Daniel found himself in his current state."

Victor began to chuckle heartily. "I'M SORRY, BUT IT JUST SOUNDED LIKE YOU WERE THREATENING ME! NOT A VERY WISE DECISION, ALEXANDROS!"

"Why do you hate her so much?"

"THERE AREN'T ENOUGH WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE HOWS AND WHYS I DESPISE THE BITCH BUT I SUPPOSE HER TRYING TO HAVE ME KILLED IS A GOOD JUMPING OFF SPOT!'

"I'm sure it was all just a big misunderstanding."

"WELL LET THERE BE NO MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT THIS. I'VE DEVOTED THE REST OF MY LIFE TO SEEING THAT MURDEROUS WHORE GETS WHAT SHE DESERVES AND I'LL BE DAMNED IF I'M GOING TO LET HER SINK HER CLAWS INTO YOU. IF YOU IGNORE MY WARNINGS TO STAY AWAY AND YOU END UP GOING DOWN WITH HER BECAUSE OF IT, THAT'S ON YOU."

Xander took a deep breath to put his mounting anger in check, then proceeded to probe with caution. "So, let me get this straight: it's OK for Daniel to see her but not me. Why is that?"

'GOOD GOD, WHAT DID YOU TWO DO, SHARE NOTES BEFORE I CAME HOME? I'LL TELL YOU THE SAME DAMN THING I TOLD HER. I KNOW DANIEL WILL EVENTUALLY COME TO HIS SENSES. YOU WON'T, AND I AM NOT GOING TO ALLOW YOU TO DISGRACE THIS FAMILY!"

"She was good enough for you at one time, uncle. What changed? Did she break your heart?"

"HA," Victor yelped out as if it were the most incredulous thing he'd ever heard. "I KNEW SHE WAS NOTHING BUT A MONEY GRUBBING BITCH SINCE DAY ONE!"

"I'm not sure I believe that," Xander said coolly as he smoothed back an unruly strand of hair from his forehead. "I think she really got under your skin at one time."

'I AM NOT GOING TO SIT HERE AND ARGUE ABOUT FEELINGS FOR NICOLE WALKER THAT NEVER EXISTED AND I'M CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO CONTINUE ARGUING ABOUT YOU KEEPING YOUR DISTANCE FROM HER! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

"Yes, uncle,' he responded obediently with no intention whatsoever of keeping his promise.

"GOOD, AND TO GET YOU OFF TO A GOOD START I'M SENDING YOU OFF TO ARGENTINA FOR A FEW WEEKS. THERE IS SOME BUSINESS DOWN THERE I NEED YOU TO TAKE CARE OF."

"Of course, you know I am always willing to do whatever you wish."

"GOOD. YOU LEAVE RIGHT AWAY SO GO PACK YOUR THINGS. MY CAR WILL TAKE YOU TO THE HOTEL TO GET YOUR THINGS AND THEN THE TITAN JET WILL TAKE YOU TO BUENOS AIRES TO SEE THAT YOU ARRIVE AT YOUR INTENDED DESTINATION AND THAT YOU TRAVEL ALONE. JUST FORGET ABOUT HER, ALEXANDROS. SHE'S BAD NEWS."

"Consider it done, uncle,' he replied agreeably before bidding farewell simply by nodding his head then leaving. He only got into the car and took the ride to the hotel, still attempting to text Nicole and still no response. After his bags were packed, he let the car carry him to the airport where he boarded the plane as expected and took the long thirteen hour flight to Buenos Aires, sending one final text to Nicole before boarding:

 **I've been banished to Buenos Aires for a few weeks by uncle Victor. If you're feeling adventurous and you'd like to join me, I've arranged for my company's jet to bring you here at your request, just call Marcus, my pilot, at 555-1342 and tell him you're ready to go. I'll try you again as soon as soon as I'm on the ground. Thinking of you, always.**

It was torture not being able to contact her somehow and the already unbearable thirteen hour flight was further delayed several hours by a mechanical issue they'd had to land to have checked out half way through. To make matters worse, he'd left his phone charger in the hotel so now he couldn't try to reach her again or even check his messages now that he was on the ground. It was infuriating. By the time he finally arrived in Buenos Aires, he was ready to take his aggressions out on some down feather pillows in his hotel room, but first he would have to go in search of a phone charger.

As the plane slowly pulled up to it's gate, something familiar caught the corner of his eye. He turned his full attention to the window and saw that parked in the gate immediately next to the Titan jet was none other than his very own Randor-Lewis jet. She was here. Before he could even wonder how far ahead she'd arrived, he saw her, and she was looking right at him from her seat still inside the plane. They waved at each other like two little kids waving to one another on some amusement park ride, with grins as wide as their faces would allow.

He disembarked the plane as quickly as he was allowed after watching her get a bit of a head start on him. He ran down the seemingly infinite corridor which would bring him to the waiting area where they could finally meet and found her waiting for him as close as airport security would allow her to get.

"Hello, Love," he whispered, wearing a bashful smile on his face.

"Hi," she stated simply, allowing her joyfully watery eyes to do all the communicating instead. Her message came through loud and clear and instead of ruining the moment with jumbled up words which really didn't mean anything at all anyway, he ran his hand up the back of her neck and through her hair where it remained as he drew her in to partake in the earth-shattering kiss they both were so desperate to share, making themselves something of a spectacle for all passers-by for the next ten minutes or so to come.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Buenos Aires

Day 1

Xander and Nicole sat side by side on the couch in the common area of the two bedroom, luxury hotel suite offering the absolute best view of Argentina's stunning capital city. The two had just reconvened after unpacking their bags in their respective bedrooms, an unprecedented move by Xander which had both pleased and shocked Nicole at the same time.

"So, Nicole Walker, it is your first evening ever in beautiful Buenos Aires and I will be your tour guide," Xander said flirtatiously as he passed her a glass of freshly poured wine which accompanied the platter of fresh fruit and cheese he'd ordered via room service for them to nibble on until dinnertime. "What would you like to do?"

"You're the one who's been here before," Nicole quipped as she popped a red grape into her mouth from off the tray. "You tell me."

"Well, if you'd rather leave it up to me I will guarantee you a good time, but it helps to know what kind of an evening you're in the mood for."

"You know, I don't think anyone's ever asked me what I wanted to do. You kinda caught me off-guard there."

"Well then, if that's the case then I insist you tell me."

"Fine, but you're not going to like it."

"What's not to like? If it involves spending time with you, how can I go wrong?"

She blushed and offered a hesitant smile which appeared to be somewhat forced, signaling there was trouble in paradise. "Xander, I didn't come here on vacation. I came because you almost killed a man in my apartment and I need to know why so I can figure out what I'm doing with my life because I gotta say, after last night, I'm seriously rethinking our arrangement."

"I can't say I blame you," Xander replied shamefully as he stared down into his glass of wine to avoid seeing the look of what he imagined would be disappointment in her eyes. If only he'd been brave enough to make eye contact, he would have seen that there was so much more. "I must have seemed like some wild beast. I'm so sorry, Nicole but I just got fed up with the way he was talking to you. I mean, it was bad enough for him to say those things to you, but he felt the need to degrade you in front of me too, like he felt it was his duty to warn me about what kind of girl you are. I just couldn't take it another minute. Somebody needed to teach Daniel Jonas that he doesn't get to talk to women that way." Her hand was on his knee now, alternating between rubbing it in soothing circles with her fingertips and the occasional comforting squeeze. _She can't be THAT horrified considering that A; she came all the way here, B; she kissed you at the airport, and C; she didn't exactly back out just yet. Don't blow it this time, genius._

"I do appreciate that you felt the need to defend my honor, I do, and believe me, for the first few punches, I was secretly cheering you on and I probably had a smile on face to go along. But then you just kept going, and going, and you only grew more furious by the minute and there was no stopping you. I don't think you even heard me trying, and then...then you started screaming at him as if he were someone else, and then you mentioned those two names..."

"Brendan and Arianne."

"Yes. Who are they, Xander?"

"Alright, I'll tell you. But first, I think I'm going to need something a little stronger than this," he said, indicating the wine glass in his hand with a nod.

"Dewars white label and a bucket of ice," Nicole dictated with a raised eyebrow for final approval as she twisted in her seat to grab the room phone off the end table beside her to place the call to room service.

He nodded in response, bearing a pleased grin on his face as he listened to her place the order. "You know how I like my liquor. Now THAT is sexy."

"Isn't it," Nicole agreed enthusiastically. "I have to admit I have this fetish for those old film noir movies where the women serviced their men, and you offered somebody a cigarette out of your fancy-schmancy engraved cigarette case because it was the polite thing to do."

"You see, I had you pegged from day one, Nicole Walker. Sounds like a fun evening of role-playing to me. Are you sure you wouldn't rather do that than listen to my boring war stories?"

"You know, you're really pretty cute when you're trying to avoid being serious, but I'm not letting you off the hook so easy this time. We're a million miles away from Salem and there's no Serena, or Eric, or Daniel, or diamonds to be found. Tonight, your ass is mine, Xander Cook, and I'm not letting you out of this room until you spill all."

"Do you know you just gave me a hard-on right now?"

She grunted at him and shook her head in mock disgust and was just about to begin scolding him for the remark when the knock presumably from room service came upon the door.

"You mind getting the door, dame," Xander inquired, conjuring up his best incarnation of your typical, cocky, male film noir lead role.

With scotch and ice delivered, he watched hypnotically as she dropped exactly seven cubes of ice into the rocks glass and couldn't help but wonder if it was merely coincidence or if she had in fact taken notice that he always prepared his own drink with exactly seven cubes. _Of course she knows. Nicole is not your average dame. You knew that from the moment you laid eyes on her._

"Thank you, love," he said with sincere appreciation before proceeding to throw back the entire contents of the glass sans ice in just one swig. "Just so you know, I'm gonna need about three more just like that before I can even start."

"Alright," Nicole said somewhat skeptically but proceeded to line up another glass nonetheless. Hot tempers like his and drinking didn't normally mix well, and at least two out of three times she'd witnessed him fly off the handle, liquor had been involved, and not even nearly the amount he was consuming now and within such a short period of time.

"I don't even know where to begin," he confessed, looking every bit as lost as a child separated from his parents in an amusement park. "It's been so long."

"Then just start at the beginning," she leaned in to whisper into his ear, following it up with a kiss to his cheek. "For luck," she admonished him with a wink.

"Alright. Here goes nothing,' he said throwing his head back with a sigh. "I guess I should start with Brendan then.

Nicole found herself inching closer and closer to him by the second as he provided her with the history of all players involved in great detail, namely Brendan and Arianne, revealing that the two were involved in the murder he'd committed just as she'd suspected but nothing could have prepared her for the heartbreaking explanation of the how and why. She completely lost it when he spoke about the baby. Tears streamed down her cheeks as he described how he felt learning the little newborn baby boy fell in love with since conception and who he'd just shown off to his nearest and dearest friends was not his son after all. But she didn't need him to verbally express his agony to her; she could see every bit of it in those tormented green eyes. She did whatever she could to comfort him without interrupting in any way, mostly by letting her hands run up and down the lengths of his limbs in long, soothing strokes. She had something better lined up for when he was finished but for now, offering him her undivided attention to the revelation of the horrible secret he'd kept bottled up inside for so long was the absolute best service she could provide. She didn't take her eyes off of him, even when he found it hard to meet her gaze when expressing shame or regret over his actions, or the times when he'd shut his eyes so tight as if trying to squeeze the horribly vivid recollections from them. Like when he spoke about killing Brendan and how it had been no accident until Arianne broke down and told him the terrible truth.

She'd accused Brendan of raping her to cover up the affair in a moment of panic and he believed her without question for the simple reason that he never dreamed she would lie about such a thing after what happened to his aunt. He divulged yet another disturbing tale involving the rape and murder of his mother's identical twin sister on the night before she was to be married when he was only a baby. It was a jealous ex-boyfriend who'd committed the crime that tormented his mother until the day she died and it was seeing his mother's suffering over her loss for years which caused the development of his zero-tolerance policy involving abuse of a woman in any form. He explained it was this variety of 'trouble' and not 'work' which was the cause of his many run-ins with the law since the urge to knock some prick's lights out at a bar was typically unpredictable. He was simply too good in his occupation where he could take the time to plan his strike to ever get caught.

"I suppose that's about the sum of it, unless you still have burning questions" he concluded, emerging from the confession far less worse for the wear than he'd anticipated. The typical nauseous feeling was still there and he imagined it was something that would probably never go away, but at least Nicole hadn't run screaming from the room like he imagined she would in his worst-case scenario. In reality, if she were to get any closer she would be officially seated on his lap. "It might not be an acceptable explanation for what I did to Daniel, but now you at least understand where it all came from. He may not have raped you, but I could see how much he hurt you with the Misty Circle comment and that line about making your father proud."

"Yeah, well people around here have a way of believing only what they choose to believe. It doesn't seem to matter to them that I didn't do porn by choice. Well, at least not at first."

"What do you mean," Xander said, immediately morphing back into ass-kicking mode from her startling revelation.

"It's OK, look, before you get any ideas about going out and finding my father so you can pummel him into the ground, you should know he's already dead."

"Why would I want to pummel your father," he questioned with desperation in attempt to hold onto the tiny shred of hope that he was simply misunderstanding her.

"Because he's the one who made me do it. Literally made me do it. He got me so jacked up on heroin that I didn't even know what I was doing half the time. I was only sixteen...still a kid but, I don't know. I guess because I continued to do it for a while even after I got away from him so I could put myself through school and try to make something of myself, people see it as my choice. All I knew was I had to get away and I knew it was easy money. I swear, all wanted was to put as much distance between me and my father as I possibly could."

Her desperation for him to understand was heartbreaking. Her tear-filled eyes pleaded for him to take what she said as fact as if she fully expected him to be yet another name on a long list of non-believers.

"I'm so sorry for throwing that in your face like that. I had no idea."

"I know," she replied, offering a reassuring smile. "That's why I gave you a pass. But Daniel does know and I thought he at least semi-believed me, so that's why it stung a little bit. We've been fighting a lot and he's thrown a lot of my actions in my face, but I never thought he'd go there."

"If he truly loved you he would never! I mean,. my god...sixteen years old? You were just a baby. Anyone who believes your father isn't one hundred percent to blame for everything needs their head examined!"

"Oh, I've made plenty of mistakes on my own, believe me. Even I can't blame him for everything."

"Well I do. What he did to you is disgusting! I mean, Jesus Christ, Nicole. It's pretty fucked up when the term, 'forced into porn,' actually turns out to be a euphemism for rape."

"It was a long time ago and I've already faced those demons. I've moved on."

"Oh, I can see that. I'll tell you what your problem is. Your problem is that you don't even realize what an amazingly strong and brave woman you are, Nicole Walker. Think about it. It would have been very easy for you to turn to drugs. All it takes is one use of heroin to become addicted and by the sounds of it, it was readily available to you, but you somehow broke free of that. You also could have just done nothing and let your father control your destiny, or you could have continued in the porn industry if money was your only goal, or you could have completely given up, and taken your own life but you didn't because you are a fighter."

"I guess that makes you one too."

"I guess that's what makes us quite the team. And you know what else I think we have in common?"

"What?"

"I think it's been a really long time since either one of us has felt like this."

"Like what?"

"Like this," he repeated, which turned out to be the only words he used at all to answer. Every emotion he wished to convey was channeled into the tenderness with which he kissed her, the strength in his protective arms wrapped around her, and the strong, consistent beating of his enamored heart which was easily detectable wherever their bodies made contact, which became just about everywhere from the waist-up when she reciprocated by climbing on his lap facing him and wrapping her legs around his waist.

Everything just felt so right this time. There was no more worrying about how she was going to react, how he was going to react, what he would say if she asked was this was all about, but this time she wasn't going to ask but even if she did, his explanation would be simple. He was falling in love with her. Yep, he would even dare say it because it was much easier to admit as much than it would be to lose her forever. Of course the fact that he was pretty sure she felt the same helped a lot.

He was off the hook for the evening as conversation as a whole pretty much came to an end with the kiss, with the only further discussion being which bedroom they were going to take it to. They decided on hers for it's slightly more appealing view of the city even though not a minute was spent taking in the sights. The bright city lights did however lend a soft, romantic glow to the room which, when paired with the fresh sea-salt scented air pouring in through the open balcony door, provided the perfect setting for him to make love to her for the first time.

He'd never experienced anything quite like it. Every movement between them seemed to be so carefully considered yet so natural and instinctive at the same time. He'd never felt this way with anyone, not even Arianne when he was still under the impression that things were good. Of course they hadn't been good, and probably never were because Arianne was never meant to be the one. He knew that now. The only purpose Arianne had served in his life was to lead him to his destiny. Nicole Walker.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Buenos Aires

Day 2

Xander laid in bed as still as he could despite the fact that he had to take a major leak for quite some time now. He had been drifting in and out of sleep for the last few hours, but each and every time he surveyed Nicole she appeared to have not moved a muscle and this time was no different: she was still cuddled up under his left arm with her head resting on his chest and an angelic smile plastered on her face. His bathroom break would have to wait a bit longer for two reasons: he couldn't bear to move her and he intended to savor every minute of that smile before she woke up and realized the momentous mistake she'd made.

Of course this was merely his paranoia speaking. He didn't know for a fact she was going to wake up and run from the room screaming like the scene presenting itself to his brain at the very moment, but preparing for the worst was a necessary step, only this time he wasn't sure there would be anything at all he could do about it, at least not immediately. In his desperation to keep her close he'd kidnapped her, threatened her, and forced her into various uncomfortable situations, all of which were things he would have killed some asshole for doing and now, to make it worse, he'd done it to someone who had been victimized over and over again for pretty much her entire life. Someone who he cared about deeply. If he was going to see to it that she stuck around, there was only one remaining option: he would have to make her fall in love with him. Can do.

He found his arm drawing her closer automatically, and that slight shift in position was just enough to cause her to stir. She moaned softly and licked her lips without opening her eyes, then proceeded to burrow herself into the snuggest part of his embrace. When he observed a content smile returning to her face, he leaned down and planted a soft kiss to her forehead which only brightened her smile more.

"Good morning," she mumbled sweetly as her eyes slowly began to flutter open.

"Good morning," he whispered, followed by yet another kiss to the same location. "Did you sleep well, love?"

"I think so. What time is it?"

He hadn't yet bothered to look at the clock himself and when he glanced to the night stand at their bedside, he finally remembered why he hadn't bothered and began to laugh heartily.

"What's so funny?"

"Clearly you don't remember your arm knocking the alarm clock off the stand amidst the throes of passion."

"Oh, right. Whoops," she replied bashfully, attempting to bury her head in his armpit to conceal her blushing cheeks. "I was actually trying to grab it so I could bonk you over the head with it."

"Oh, I see. Was I that awful?"

"No" she said dreamily, with a smile to match. "It was wonderful."

The elated conviction with which she spoke those words sent his heart throbbing and, given her head's current position on his chest, she was in perfect position to both hear and feel the effects that her candid confession had on him.

"I'm glad we agree," he whispered, letting his fingertips begin drawing circles in the small of her back.

"So now what?"

"What do you mean, 'now what,' he inquired, with growing alarm in his voice.

"Oh yeah, I guess I failed to mention that Victor threatened me to keep away from you."

"Oh, is that all? Don't scare me like that, love."

"Is that all? You really don't know your uncle Vic that well, do you?"

"I do. I'm sure he'll do his usual ranting and raving and then he'll get over it like he always does."

"Maybe with you, but I'm sure he'll find some way to make my life miserable."

"Oh come on, if Victor truly wanted to make your life miserable, he would have done so by now. You and I both know the destruction he is capable of."

"Yeah, but he also gets so pissy when people defy him. He is going to flip when he finds out that we've actually become a 'thing."

"And by 'thing' am I safe in assuming that means you decided that you do in fact want to continue with our arrangement?"

"Well, there is one tiny problem with that."

"Problem? What sort of problem?"

"Well, let's see. Daniel already thinks I'm a whore for cheating on him, and he won't be too pleased to find out that I chose to flee to Argentina with you as opposed to keeping vigil at his bedside, so I don't really see him being jealous of our relationship."

 _Relationship. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a relationship!_ "Alright, I see your point. So what are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is, you're going to have to come up with a better reason to want marry me."

It was one of those moments where one envisions themselves breaking out into song a la a Broadway production. She didn't say she didn't want to marry him which to him was as good as saying she did. So what if they were both a little backwards with their communication skills; when they both spoke the same, unique, roundabout language, it was easy for them to understand one another. Of course he was willing to provide her with the most straightforward answer if proved necessary but, for the time being, he would continue on with the method which seemed to be the most comfortable for both of them.

"Well, you realize it was never only about Daniel. I told you there was much more to my plan than simply making him jealous."

"Yeah, but you never did fill me in on the rest of what this little plan of yours was."

"Well, I'd hardly call it little to begin with. If we succeed, it will truly be life-changing for the both of us. I want to be the one to take over Titan when Victor passes the torch."

"Ok, again, you and I being a 'thing' is bad enough. If we get married, Victor is going to flip his lid. Being married to me would be reason enough for him to deny you taking control, never mind the fact that Philip and Brady are already waiting in the wings and, I'm sorry to say, but there is no way Victor would pass them over for you."

"He would if Titan's best interests depended on it. It's up to you and I to prove to him that I am the best man for the job."

"No offense to you and your capabilities, but I'm still lost."

"OK, look. Yes, Victor is going to hate every minute of you and I being together, but on the same token, I also know that he has a huge amount of respect for people that stick to their guns no matter what. He'll get used to the idea, and when he sees how well you and I work together as a team and how profitable it proves to be for Titan, he'll not only get used to you, he'll love you."

"OK, now I'm really convinced you don't know your uncle as well as you think you do. And how does us being married gain profit for Titan?"

"Well, the marriage itself doesn't, but you working for Randor-Lewis does, if you should choose to accept the job, of course."

"You want me to come work for your company? Pharmaceuticals?"

"Randor-Lewis is not your average pharmaceutical company. We manufacture skin care products geared toward those wishing to either prolong or reverse the aging process. Up until now the product selection has been fairly limited; you know, moisturizing creams and sunscreen mostly, but we are now in the midst of developing a cosmetics line as well and I can't think of anyone better to put in charge of marketing the line than you."

"Hmm, anti-aging products, huh? I'm not sure if I should be flattered or slap the shit out of you."

He chuckled and kissed the top of her forehead before elaborating. "My offer was not meant to imply you have some vast knowledge of such products, only that I know you are very capable of doing the job. I read all about what you did for EJ's mayoral campaign. I could use a good woman with your many talents. And when Randor-Lewis's success soars, I will make Uncle Victor an offer he can't refuse, and then you and I can move onto our next business venture, finding another nearly bankrupt company to take over and turn around so that Titan can absorb it and reap it's profits."

"So, can't I just do all that as your business partner?"

"What, all that boring stuff? Sure. The other stuff...did you change your mind about having a child?"

"No. I guess I was just wondering-"

"You were just wondering if there was some other underlying reasons why I want to marry you."

Their hands explored each others bodies endlessly throughout the entire conversation, and the soft, sensuous touches had made even the most difficult topics somehow easier to address.

"Well, yeah. I guess I'm still not getting it."

"Well you didn't exactly let me finish either so I will, if you don't mind. I want to impress Uncle Victor by making Randor-Lewis a success. Right now I'm only of use to him when he's got problems which can't be settled inside a boardroom. If I'm ever to stand a chance at taking over Titan, he's got to see first-hand that I am as smart and shrewd a business man as he, so the success of my company is key and the key to my company's success is image. It's a proven fact that married men with children hold a more favorable public opinion."

"Hmm, OK that might be true if your wife is more of a Jennifer Horton type than a former porn star."

"I don't think that's true at all. In fact, people love a good redemption story and whether you realize it or not, you're more than halfway there already. I'm sure the majority of this town already knows about your past, but no one really seems to take issue with it. I think you've gained a lot of respect with your current position at Titan TV. Believe me, Victor wouldn't hesitate to have you fired if you weren't proving yourself beneficial."

"So that's it. That's what this is all about? Image?"

"No. Not at all, I'm full of shit really. It was just easier to explain."

"Easier to explain than what?"

"That I've been shit nuts about you from the start. Oh hell, even the whole line about making Daniel jealous was a bunch of rubbish but, for the record, you really did come this close to almost getting yourself killed, not that I would have anything to do with it. I didn't make that up."

"You wouldn't let anything bad happen to me."

"Never. I would die protecting you, Nicole Walker."

"You sure have this weird fetish for saying my full name."

"I like the way it rolls of my tongue. Nicole Walker."

"I like the way everything rolls off your tongue. So tell me, what are you going to call me when my name officially changes to Nicole Cook?"

"You're not going to be a Cook, and neither am I for much longer. Nicole Walker Kiriakis. Has quite a nice ring, don't you think?"

"What I think is we're kinda jumping the gun a little bit. I mean, here we are picking out last names and I haven't even been officially proposed to yet, if you know what I mean," she replied with an exaggerated, suggestive wink.

"What, are you implying I should propose?"

"That's usually the way it works, unless I was just supposed to accept our talk as your proposal."

"Well if that isn't the most unromantic thing I've ever heard in my life. Sweetheart, I guarantee you, when I propose to you, you'll know it. I live to impress."

"You'd go through all the trouble knowing my answer would be a 'yes' anyway?"

"Making you happy is worth whatever trouble I might have to endure."

"What if I told you that I'm perfectly happy with just saying, 'OK, let's do this,' and you can just skip the ring and the proposal and all the pageantry that goes with it.'

"I would probably say, 'oh, aren't you sweet. Alright then,' and then surprise you with grandest marriage proposal there ever was anyway."

"I want you to know something."

"What?"

"For your information, I was shit nuts about you from the start too. You were right, about everything. I was in total denial over who I was, and what I wanted...what made me happy. WHO made me happy."

"I don't know, who made you happy," he teased, as if taking her statement for a question.

"You did," she chuckled, "and more than just happy. You made me feel alive again."

"Ditto, Nicole Walker. Ditto."

At this point she rolled over on top of him and began to kiss him passionately; an action that would commence another round of lovemaking which would carry them well into the next hour. The bathroom would still have to wait.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Buenos Aires Day 8

Nicole studied herself with a satisfied smile as she alternated poses before the free-standing, full-length mirror situated in the corner of her room closest to the window. _Wear something sexy_ had been the last words Xander whispered in her ear early that morning before departing for 'work' and the almost completely backless, ankle-length red dress with the nearly waist-high slit up her right leg was sure to please.

She had purchased the dress on one of many shopping excursions during her stay, all of which were completely funded by Xander per his insistence. At first she was quite parsimonious with the substantial wad of cash he provided her with on a daily basis but after being 'scolded' on several occasions for her frugalness, she learned it was best to report to him later with an empty pocketbook, for who knew what kind of horrendous torture awaited her if she disobeyed. The last time she found herself naked and handcuffed to the bed where he teased her for hours in nearly pitch-black darkness, his hands, lips and tongue visiting every inch of her body except for the places she wanted to feel them the most. Begging had seemed to do no good at all. In fact, the more she pleaded the more creative his tortures became. There were moments when he stopped touching her altogether except for his lips brushing her ear as he described in detail exactly what he would do to her when he felt she was truly sorry, which of course were the same delightfully dirty things she'd been begging for him to do all along. Her best guess told her it was a good four to five hours before he uncuffed her and finally made good on his promises. She had never before considered herself a 'screamer' in the sack, but then of course there is a first time for everything. Apparently she was loud enough to warrant them a visit from hotel security, but thankfully it was well after the multiple orgasms which had caused her outburst in the first place. She had joined Xander at the door wrapped in a sheet, ready to back up his statement that the only crime committed in their suite that evening was pleasure in the first. Xander was far less modest than she; he had answered the door completely naked. The visit took all of about thirty seconds; just long enough for the guards to get the gist that the only thing that had been going on that room was something they would likely never have the opportunity to experience in their entire, mundane, average lives. She and Xander both chuckled all the way back to the bedroom where they spent an hour or so basking in the afterglow before drifting off to sleep. Perhaps tonight would be another good night for misbehaving.

She heard the familiar sound of the door creaking open and did one final check just to make sure hair and makeup were flawless, then trotted out to the common area to greet him. He was wearing his typical work 'uniform' of black jeans, tee, and leather jacket and she found herself hoping he had no intentions of changing or showering for their dinner date although she loved his polished look just as much. It was simply a case of, 'sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.'

"My, my. Don't you look stunning," he said, declining to immediately grab and kiss her as had become typical over the past week so he could take the time to fully appreciate the beauty of his goddess standing before him.

"You like," she replied seductively as she slowly spun around on her heels to offer him the complete 360 degree view.

"Si! A mi me gusta muy bien, gracias, senorita" he said quipped back in easy Spanish that she could understand as opposed to the fluent Spanish he used when speaking with the locals. He approached her aggressively now, grabbing her around her waist just like he did when she was about to get her kiss and didn't disappoint. "I especially love this," he murmured in her ear after their lips parted and, starting at her knee, he ran his hand up her leg, parting the slit in her dress as he moved along. "Oh my, what's this?" He peered down into her eyes with a mischeivous smile when his fingers suddenly found themselves brushing against her clitoris, barrier free. "No panties? You naughty, girl."

"I think you and I both like it when I'm naughty," she said, throwing her arms around his neck while trying to manipulate the position of his fingers between her legs at the same time.

"Uh-uh," he responded, promptly drawing his fingers away while shaking his head at her in a scolding manner. "Now you are being naughty. I suppose I'll have to find some way to punish you for that."

"I can't wait."

"You do realize, you don't necessarily have to misbehave to be 'punished,' and I won't think any less of you if you just admit you enjoy me tying you up and toying with you. I'm a really good sport when it comes to those kinds of games."

"In that case, I propose we skip dinner tonight and get right down to the festivities."

"Well, love...as tempting as that sounds I'm afraid we'll have to save the festivities for later," he apologized, following up with a kiss to her forehead to soften the blow. "You see, I have made very special plans this evening for a very special lady which, for the record, will ultimately conclude with a session of mind-blowing sex."

"Lucky girl. So what am I supposed to do for the rest of the evening?"

"You are my special lady, Nicole Walker," he said with a tone every bit as sweet as his smile and as loving as the manner in which his hands ever-so-gently cupped her face as he drew her in for a long, passionate kiss. "Hasn't anyone ever told you that before," he inquired minutes later, prompting Nicole to struggle to remember what they had just been discussing after his flustering kiss.

"Which part? That I'm special or that I'm a lady? Whelp, doesn't really matter I guess cuz it's a big no to both!"

"Well, it boggles the mind, truly, and I have to say I'm feeling a bit cocky about showing you off this evening. By the time the night is through, I am going to be the envy of every man in Buenos Aires."

"What? What in the world are you talking about? You've got something up your sleeve, Alexandros."

"Tentatively, as long as you pass the test."

"Test?"

"Mmmmm hmmm. Stand on one foot."

Nicole stood as still as a statue, staring at him as if he'd completely lost all his marbles.

"Come on now, do it. Stand on one foot. Your injured foot. Simon says."

"Well, if Simon says," she replied with a chuckle, still studying his face with skepticism as she performed the requested task.

His smile broadened when he saw she was strong and steady on her feet without a hint of any discomfort showing on her face. "Excellent. No pain, stiffness, discomfort of any sort?"

"One hundred and ten percent better! I told you so yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that..."

"Alright, alright, no need to get sassy. Just making sure my special lady is in tip-top shape for ALL of the evening's festivities."

"Which are," she inquired with exuberance as she danced in place.

"Which are for you to ponder while I get ready."

Before she could grill him for more info he kissed the top of her head once more and made his escape to the bathroom to shower and shave, locking the door behind him to avoid a surprise visit. Of course on any other occasion he'd be more than happy for her to sneak up on him in the shower, but today he was safeguarding his best-kept secret of all: The exquisite diamond engagement ring he picked up earlier that day. By 'picked up' he didn't mean that he just waltzed into your average jewelry store and picked out just any ring. He had done a lot of asking around since their arrival there to determine which was indeed the finest establishment in the area capable of making customized jewelry and dropped the owners a considerable amount of cash to craft a ring in record turnaround out of his own unique design and with a diamond that he furnished: it was one of the diamonds that Nicole had retrieved from Daniel's apartment. It wasn't that he was trying in any way to scrimp and save; the diamond never belonged to him and he'd paid Lucius a pretty penny to take ownership of it. It took one sentimental fool to recognize another and he knew that it would be as meaningful, and amusing, to Nicole as it was to him because ultimately, it was the diamonds that brought him to Salem and hence, to her.

He hid the jewelry box within the crumpled-up ball of clothing in his arms as he darted into the bedroom, trying to again avoid any interference from Nicole until he could slip it into the inner pocket of his suit jacket where it would remain safe until the perfect moment, but first there would be dinner, and dancing.

"That was quick," Nicole quipped, obviously impressed by his haste to get on with their evening.

"I don't like to keep a lady waiting. Unless she wants me to, that is."

His suggestive answer sent thrills of anticipation coursing through her body. "Are you sure you don't want to just skip dinner?"

"Come on, darling. I'm going to make you wait regardless. You can pass the time having fun out on the town with me, or you can pass the time lying in bed helplessly waiting for something, anything, to happen."

"Ok, OK, then let's go. Shake a tail feather, Mr. Kiriakis because I am ready to get this show on the road."

"After you, my lady," he said, ever-so-gallantly as held the door open long enough for her to pass through, then joined her at her side, looping his arm through hers to escort her out of the building.

"Oh gosh, look," she said, shrieking with delight as her finger pointed to the horse-drawn, enclosed carriage waiting curbside. She didn't even consider the fact that it might be for her. Her draw dropped open when the coachman and Xander exchanged a greeting and Xander took his place beside the step, proceeding to open the door and offer his hand for assistance.

"You're kidding me, right. This isn't for me."

"Of course it's for you, silly. Come on now. You don't want to be late to the ball."

"This is so...magical," she gushed, staring through the cut-out window as the carriage carried them through the busy streets of Buenos Aires at a more leisurely pace than the other commuters, none of which were in horse-drawn carriages. Come to think of it, she'd never seen any during their many excursions throughout the city and found herself imagining what kind of strings he'd pulled, and cash he'd dished out, to make it all possible. It was the first time she actually felt special, so much so that she actually began to believe it to be true. If she had paid more attention to the way he gazed upon her adoringly for the entire duration of the ride, she wouldn't just believe it, she would take it for fact.

They had dinner at the finest restaurant the city had to boast, and again it was obvious that Xander had in some way bought their table since it was widely known reservations were required and the establishment was booked solid for months down the road. The food was divine and the service was truly first-class but nothing delighted her more than the way he proudly flaunted her and fussed over her throughout the course of the evening.

After dinner, they traveled by carriage to an establishment named 'El Beso' where the purpose of their visit there quickly became apparent between the signage on the building itself and the music escaping into the brisk night air from within: it was a tango hall, or milonga as the locals called it. Nicole couldn't help but chuckle to herself as Xander's evaluation of her ankle which seemed odd at the time finally began to make sense. _Oh god, the tangp. You haven't danced the tango since..._ EJ. Since EJ. Then again, there were a lot of things that she hadn't done, or felt, or cared about since EJ. She had spent almost every single night of her life for the past three years measuring every man she crossed paths with against him. It was with that notion that she chose to close the book on her ex for good and begin a new volume in the story of her life. Xander Kiriakis.

"So, you never did answer my question, Nicole Walker. Does Daniel Jonas know how to do the tango or not?"

She found herself laughing out loud, and heartily, as she strained to imagine Daniel doing anything to embrace his artistic side, if he even had one. "I highly doubt it. Curious as to why you never asked me if I know how."

"Clearly you've never heard of the legendary night at Chez Rouge where EJ DiMera made my cousin Brady look like a complete fool."

Nicole knew her face must've turned a lovely shade of crimson judging by the intense warmth in her cheeks. "Who told you about that?"

"I got Henderson all liquored up one night and he was more than happy to dish out all the information I asked for. That was the first thing he told me about you, even before mentioning you were married to uncle Victor. I guess I missed quite a show."

They made their way up a narrow staircase and into the bustling club where Nicole immediately made a startling observation. "OK, why are all the guys sitting on this side, and all the women sitting in that side?"

"So it's easier for a partner to scope out their prey, my dear. Just be careful how you nod your head or you may find yourself dancing with god only knows who. You must be selective about these things."

"Wait, a minute...you're not actually suggesting I dance with other men, are you?"

"Why not? It's just dancing. Does the thought of me dancing with other women make you jealous?"

"Actually, yes. Yes it does!"

"Well then think about how you can channel all that jealousy and passion into our dance when I finally get a hold of you, love, and vice versa. I'm not cool with EJ DiMera being the dance partner you're remembered with."

"OK, fine. You want to tango with one of those little Argentine sluts over there, be my guest.

He was caught quite off-guard by the shove that followed her seemingly perturbed statement but the wink she gave as her parting gift before storming away assured him she was doing nothing more than slipping into the role he suggested she might enjoy playing.

They watched each other dance a couple rounds with some very attractive partners, but he could tell she was as unimpressed with her company as he was with his and the only displays of interest in their partners they put on were merely theatrics implemented for the sole purpose of making each other jealous. As much as Xander had been enjoying the show, he could no longer ignore the persistent buzzing of the cellphone in his pocket, especially considering that almost everyone in the world had been put on 'ignore' for the evening aside from the one person that you never put on 'ignore.' Uncle Victor.

He slipped out of the club inconspicuously to Nicole while her back was turned to him as she tore up the carpet with a new partner. Damn it. Victor would never call repeatedly like that unless it was of utmost importance and since he was technically there on an assignment which was yet to be completed, there was no way he could avoid taking the call.

"Perfect timing as always, Uncle Victor. What do you want?"

"I'd say I'm sorry to interrupt your evening Alexandros but I'd be lying. At least the tango you're doing this time is of the vertical sort."

Xander rolled his eyes. Of course Victor had known from day one that Nicole had accompanied him on his trip. What he wasn't aware if until now was that he was also having them followed. "What can I do for you," he reiterated, already growing impatient with his uncle's snide remarks.

"I need you to finish the job TONIGHT Alexandros, and report back to Salem immediately following. I have a huge problem on my hands thanks to you which means that you have an even bigger problem."

"What seems to be the trouble? Everything is going smoothly down here, the-"

"THE TROUBLE IS THAT ONE OF YOUR MEN WAS FOUND FERTILIZING MY LAWN WITH HIS EYES GOUGED OUT!"

"One of my people?" He drew his head away from the earpiece and looked at his phone as if he expected it to offer some kind of explanation. "Who?"

"Louis Alonzo is the name on the ID? Ring a bell?"

"Yeah, look, I'll finish up here tonight and head back first thing in the morning. I'll explain everything then."

"PLEASE DO! I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHO'S GUNNING FOR ME BEFORE I GET HIT BETWEEN THE EYES!"

"Shit, shit, SHIT," he fumed, nearly throwing his phone to the ground and smashing it before realizing he was going to need it to make a few very important phone calls. He started dialing furiously, placing the first call to Navidad to advise her and Angelo to meet him at the club so he could depart with them and figure out a strategy for that evening. Next, he placed a call to the pilot and instructed him to file a flight plan for their departure tomorrow, then finally, placed a call to two more of his people to enlist in providing security for Nicole once they returned to the states. If he was to become a subject for punishment or revenge, he knew better than anyone else that the people he loved could be targeted. Apparently, Stefano DiMera wasn't too happy to discover that somebody was watching his little granddaughter and he was able to tie his man to the Kiriakis family somehow.

Fuck! Why did this all have to happen tonight? If business were to go smoothly, he could probably be finished in just a couple of hours and still be back to escort her to the proposal site where he would pop the question, and then they could proceed back to the hotel and make love until it was time to rush to the airport, then sleep all the way back to Salem. Yes, it could work. Maybe not his idea of the perfect evening but they had both agreed that it would be quite something for them to return to Salem only to announce their engagement to all who'd been speculating Nicole must be under some kind of duress to treat Daniel the way she did and run off with him. Now he had to inform Nicole that their time was up and she needed to pack, leaving her to deduce on her own that if she even got a proposal at all, it wouldn't be of the magnificent, unforgettable variety that he'd promised her.

He ran back into the building and up the stairs and immediately spotted Nicole. She was in the midst of a dance with a handsome stranger and apparently this time enjoying herself, smiling and laughing as he led her from one side of the floor to the other. He might have enjoyed the display somewhat earlier, but now he had no patience for it considering her time with her this evening had been cut short.

"It's about time," She said with mock bitterness when he cut in and swooped her away from the unsuspecting chap. "I was beginning to think you fan off with a little senorita."

"Darling, I'm sorry. Something suddenly came up and I have to leave for a little while," he spoke softly into her ear with deep regret as he led her down the dance floor in a close embrace interpretation of the dance. He could feel the eyes of the crowd boring into them and suddenly the idea of it wasn't nearly as intriguing as it was before. If Stefano DiMera knew enough to tie Lou to the Kiriakis family at least, it was very possible they had gotten to his man and forced him to talk and they already knew it was him specifically who ordered Sydney's surveillance and why. And if Nicole's name got dragged into it, Stefano could possibly get the wrong idea and think her kidnapping tendencies had returned and that she herself had something to do with it. It was a horrible mess, and as his eyes caught a glimpse of the man Nicole had just been dancing with, he realized they were already in deep. The man had apparently been recording them on his phone, and as soon as he noticed Xander's eyes had fixed upon him, he bolted out of the club subsequently followed by three more slimy-looking Italian goons.

"Why? Why do you have to go? Is something wrong?"

"Don't worry, love. There's been an unexpected development with my assignment and I no longer have the time to carry out my initial plan. The good news is that come tomorrow morning, that will all be over and done with."

"OK, if that's the good news, is there bad news to go along with it?"

He frowned before lowering her into a dip, then pulled her back up to explain. "We have to go back tomorrow."

"Oh. I guess that means my carriage has turned into a pumpkin, huh?"

"I'm so sorry. I'm going to make this as quick as possible so we can salvage whatever we can of our last night here together. I hope you know that it must be important if it causes me to break plans with you. Nicole, there is nowhere I'd rather be tonight, or ever for that matter, than with you."

"OK then, prove it to me, Mr. Kiriakis. Show all those catty bitches over there that I'm the only woman in this room that you have eyes for."

He accepted her challenge with a nod, spinning her away only so that he could effectively demonstrate the fierce desire with which he pulled her back close. For the rest of the dance, their chests never separated except for the occasional dip here or there thrown in for dramatic flair. Their eyes never strayed from one another, even with Xander's growing nervousness nagging at him to be aware of his surroundings. Right now Nicole needed to feel safe and secure and part of that security would come from being assured how much she meant to him. He had only the remainder of the dance to convey as much for now and he intended to make good on every second of it. He kept his lips on hers as he hoisted up her leg and proceeded to drag her across the entire length of the dance floor.

"I want you so bad," he whispered gruffly into her ear before thrusting his pelvis into her and lowering her into one final plunge as the familiar piece of music accompanying their dance neared it's end.

"I'll be waiting at the hotel," she said smiling, having to shout slightly to be heard through all the claps and whistles intended for them. "And I'll have you know one of the places I visited today was a very interesting boutique featuring some women's clothing that doesn't leave much to the imagination, if you know what I mean."

He kissed her again, his lips continuing to hold on for dear life each time he attempted to pull away. It was finally her who physically pushed him away, although she performed the task most gently. "Go, get outta here. I want you back by midnight."

"Come on," he said, extending his hand in reply. "Let me see you to the carriage. I know the driver will get you home safely."

She bypassed his hand and opted to throw her arm around his waist and he reciprocated by doing the same and the two made the trip to the carriage with the same closeness they'd shared on the dance floor. He kissed her one last time, for now at least, before watching the carriage disappear down the street and around the corner with a fear that he'd never felt before.

"Navidad, you're not going to be with me tonight," he spoke to his most trusted accomplice after convening with her and Angelo outside the club upon Nicole's disappearance. "I need you back at the hotel watching Nicole. I don't want to alarm her so don't let her know you're there. We're being watched so beware if your surroundings. Stefano DiMera sent them I'm pretty sure, so think Italian. I already spotted about four of them in the club and one of them already got his paws on Nicole."

"You can't go in there with only one person covering you. It's too risky."

"Yeah, well I'm not leaving Nicole all alone either, and I'm sure as hell not leaving her all alone with this bald pervert over here," he said rather matter-of-factly, nodding toward Angelo who was perfectly keen to the conversation taking place.

Navidad chuckled. "Oh, so you're going to leave her with lesbian who has a thing for tall blondes instead. Good move."

"Alright look, we've no time to debate this. It's what's got to be done and that's my final orders so let's go."

* * *

Thousands of miles away in a quaint little village in Italy, a man with a familiar face but new name sat watching the video of Nicole dancing the tango with some psychopath playing on his phone over and over again, growing increasingly livid with each successive viewing. He wasn't quite sure why he'd never heard of Xander Cook/Kiriakis before just a couple of days ago but one thing he knew for certain was that the bastard would never have a chance to put his grubby paws on either his daughter or his ex-wife ever again. Not if he had anything to do with it, which he fully intended to by the night's end. He picked up the phone and gave the go ahead to his men in Buenos Aires to make Xander Cook disappear just as quickly as he'd appeared out of nowhere.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Buenos Aires

Day 9

Nicole sat cross-legged balancing her laptop on one knee on the hotel bed wearing the white lace babydoll she'd purchased at the lingerie boutique earlier that day for her sexy man's entertainment this evening. Well, early morning now. She frowned as her as her eyes squinted through her glasses to spy the time in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. It was 12:48. Although Xander had given her no specific time to expect him back, he did leave her with the impression that it would only be a few hours and with the 1AM hour quickly approaching, that would put his absence somewhere around the four hour mark which was more than just a few hours by her book. Don't panic, everything's fine, she tried to assure herself internally, but she just couldn't shake the eerie feeling that something was really very wrong.

"Settle down, old girl, you're just being paranoid" she said aloud this time, hoping that hearing her voice of reason would have more influence on calming her nerves, but all she managed to extract from the verbal outburst was that she actually sounded even more nervous than she imagined she was.

She took a deep breath in attempt to settle down, then tried to shift her focus back to ingraining the history of Randor-Lewis Pharmaceuticals into her brain. Although Xander had 'forbid' her from diving right into work at any time during their stay, she couldn't stand the feeling of being jobless, which was exactly what she was until she was officially on the books at RLP. Upon learning of her forbidden little rondezvous with Xander, Victor promptly had her fired from the TV station, regardless of the fact that her leave had been approved by her immediate supervisor Miles.

Victor. She crinkled up her nose recalling that Xander's disappearance that evening was all because of him, and she was fairly certain that his interference was for the sole purpose of ruining their time together. For reasons she knew not, he was absolutely adamant about her keeping her distance from Xander, and vice versa, yet she had this on- again, off-again deal going on with Brady for years, and he seemed completely unaffected by her latest round with Daniel. The man was an enigma, and one she long ago gave up trying to reason with.

Her head perked up when she heard activity outside the door. Biting her lip to suppress her growing smile, she promptly removed her glasses, tossing them to the nightstand. Just as she was closing her laptop shut, the door suddenly flew open and the person who stormed inside was not the person she was expecting to see.

"Navidad, what-"

"What blood type are you," Navidad barked as she began ripping sheets from the bed with unexplained urgency.

"Why, wh-"

"Do you know your blood type or not?"

Nicole didn't dare but offer the most straightforward answer in response to Navidad's no-nonsense demeanor. "A. I'm type A"

"Shit, you won't do then. Fuck!"

Nicole could feel her breath trying to keep up with her rapidly increasing heart rate as she watched Navidad drag the sheets she'd stripped from the bed into the bathroom, proceeding to spread them out across the length of the floor. She tried to muster up the courage to inquire what was going on, but she was half afraid Navidad would literally bite her head off. As it turned out, all her question were just seconds away from being answered anyway.

The door flung open again, and this time it was Xander, only it wasn't Xander strutting in on his own accord. Angelo was supporting him around the waist, with Xander's arm flung around his neck for support, and visibly struggling to keep his nearly unconscious employer on his feet.

"Oh my god! Xander! I'm calling for help!"

Nicole ran to his side with cellphone in hand but was promptly and curtly pushed aside by Navidad and stripped of her phone. "No. No paramedics, and stay the hell out of the way until I tell you I need you."

Nicole felt tears welling up in her eyes as she watched Angelo lower a completely incoherent Xander to the bathroom floor. Her mind didn't have time to piece the clues pertaining to what had happened together so it was quite a shock to her system when Navidad began to peel away layers of his clothing, and other various materials that had been used as absorbents, saturated in his blood. Even more alarming was the sight of the wound itself; a gaping hole in his side which was still oozing out a steady, unrelenting stream of richly colored, red blood.

"Nicole! I need you to get in here and keep applying pressure to this wound."

Navidad hadn't even finished her sentence before Nicole found herself already there, performing the instructed task. She supposed instinct had kicked in just about the same time she was given her orders for she really didn't care if they wanted her help or not. All she knew at that moment was she had to stop the bleeding. When the washcloth she'd been provided with soaked up his blood like a sponge within seconds, she became hysterical.

"WOULD SOMEBODY PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY WE AREN'T CALLING FOR HELP!"

"Nicole, I realize you're very upset right now but you've got to remain calm," Navidad addressed her with considerably more patience and a hint of empathy this time as she busied herself threading a needle with thick, black nylon thread.

"XANDER," Nicole cried out desperately, hoping her voice would draw some kind of response from him. He seemed to mouth her name although there was no sound to accompany the movement of his lips. He was alarmingly quiet and she felt a tear trickle down each cheek simultaneously as she entertained to possibility that this could end up being the last chapter in the Xander Kiriakis volume. "Xander, come on babe. Don't you dare do this to me now! You can't make me fall in love with you and then just leave me like this, ok?"

"I'm not going to let him die, alright? Trust me. Now, I need you to pinch that wound closed."

After doing as asked without question, Nicole watched with a mixture of awe and repulsion as Navidad went to work stitching him up just as one would seal up a Thanksgiving turkey full of stuffing.

"He'll probably still be oozing for a bit, but you should notice it slowing up considerably."

"You look like you've done this before," Nicole said, finally feeling some relief upon observing the freshly stitched wound with only a tiny bit of blood gathering at the surface.

"Pretty much daily for a good six years, until I went to work for Xander, of course."

"You're a doctor?"

"Mmmm hmm," she replied as she withdrew a plethora of assorted other medical supplies from the black leather satchel at her side.

"What are you going to do with that?"

"We need to get some blood in him. Come on, Yul Brenner, you know what to do."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Angelo said with mock aggravation as he rolled up his sleeve and approached Navidad.

"Not in here," she instructed, holding up her hand to halt him from kneeling beside her. "To the couch. I'll be right there. Nicole, hold this for a minute, above your head."

Nicole took the bag of saline fluid being handed to her and watched with amazement as Navidad inserted an IV needle into his arm with ease. Once the needle was in place and taped down, she took the bag from Nicole, popped open one of the shower curtain hooks, and hung the bag from there.

"I'll be right back, ok. I'm going to get some blood from that asshole out there, meanwhile, the saline may help him come around a bit so see if you can get him to respond. Oh, and here...throw this over him for now to keep him warm."

Nicole caught the balled-up suit jacket being tossed to her that he'd worn that evening and covered his chest and shoulders but was careful to leave the wound exposed for fear of contaminating it in any way.

"Hey, tough guy, can you hear me" she cooed soothingly as her bloodstained fingers drew circles on his cheek. There was blood everywhere; all over him, all over the sheets lining the floor, on the shower curtain, all over her. She couldn't even fathom one could still be alive judging from the amount of blood that was lost. He moved his head from side to side accompanied by some weak groaning but then seemingly gave up as if the small gesture had taken all the strength he had.

At that point, Navidad was already back with a bag full of blood which she hung in the same fashion right next to the bag of saline before dropping to her knees on the side opposite of Nicole to fish Xander's other arm out from beneath the jacket to insert a second IV for the transfusion.

"I'm going to get some more blood but this should be enough to start seeing some improvement. I'll be back to check on him in a few."

"Xan? Come on babe, open your eyes. Xander?"

She sighed with frustration when the instant reaction she'd expected to see from receiving fresh blood didn't come. She rearranged the jacket to recover his exposed arm, making sure that she was doing every single thing within her power to nurse him back to health. That's when she came upon the lump in the coat. Curiosity got the better of her and she couldn't resist the urge to slip her hand underneath to investigate what it was. When she saw the little blue velvet jewelry box in her clutches, her heart began to pound. The last time he had presented her with the same type of box she had jumped to the conclusion that it was an engagement ring only to find that it was nothing but a piece of fancy spy gear. At the time she had been semi-relieved there was no ring. This time, she'd be disappointed if it were anything but. She knew his proposal was coming, and soon; they'd only talked about it daily for the entire past week. Was tonight supposed to be the night?

"Will you marry me, Nicole Walker?"

The sound of his voice was such a relief that the question being asked didn't even have time to register. She'd set the ring down at her side and immediately turned her attention to him and felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders when she spied his wide open eyes.

"Oh than god," she gushed as her lips immediately flew to his, proceeding to place several, firmly-delivered kisses jam-packed with love.

"Are you alright, love" he finally managed to squeak out when her kisses subsided.

"I am now that I know you're going to be alright."

"Well, I don't know yet if I'm going to be alright."

If she hadn't already been such a wreck she would have easily noticed he was totally bullshitting her. "What do you mean," she inquired, growing visibly nervous.

"Well you haven't answered my question yet."

"What question," she asked, searching his eyes for some sort of clue as to what she missed. The familiar impish twinkle in them was back as well as some of the color and warmth to his skin. He was looking and sounding more like the old Xander now, and that was a very good thing.

His hand began to pat around at his side until he was able to locate the box and as soon as she realized that was what he'd been searching for, she took the liberty of grabbing it to spare him the energy use.

"I do hope you realize I had something much more romantic in mind. That's what I hate about people who want to kill you. They have absolutely no consideration for your future plans."

She began to giggle as tears started trickling down her rosy cheeks at the same time. The humor had come back too.

"Go on, open it."

She eagerly pried the box open and gasped at the majestic engagement ring boasting a huge brilliant diamond in an intricate platinum setting.

"I'll have you know I had one of my best people searching high and low for that diamond. You'll never guess where she found it. It was hidden away in the lair of some beastly creature amongst some hungry, hungry, hippos."

Nicole's sudden outburst of hearty laughter was enough to draw the attention of Navidad, but as soon as she saw their smiles and the ring she retreated before her presence caused an unwelcome interruption.

"Are you serious? Is this really one of THE infamous diamonds?"

"Mmmm hmmm. Now all that's left to do is get a hold of that elephant statue so I can make him my best man at the wedding."

"Great," she began, her laughter now bordering on reaching the hysterical point. "Then I can get Serena to be my maid of honor-"

"And Eric to marry us. The whole gang will be there! That is, of course, IF you say yes. So what do you say...will you marry me, Nicole Walker?"

"You know I will," she said joyfully as she allowed him to do the honor of sliding the ring onto her finger. "But you knew that already."

"Well I couldn't be more thrilled that you've officially agreed."

"Well, how about I tell you something that you don't know. I love you, Xander Kiriakis."

He suddenly felt as if he possessed the strength of a thousand men and in one, swift motion, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and took her into his arms, planting a whirlwind of a kiss on her which left her with no doubt that he felt the same. He wished he'd been the first one to say it. He never wanted her to doubt his true feelings for her, even for a second, and he feared that his declaration immediately following hers could be met with that skepticism that pondered if he'd said it merely to avoid the awkwardness of NOT saying it in return which certainly wasn't the case. He did love her, and probably long before he even admitted it to himself. Now, the pressure was on to prove it and he could only hope that his words and actions would always accurately reflect how he felt on the inside.

"I love you too, Nicole Walker, SO much and I promise you, I will dedicate the rest of my life to making you happy and I will NEVER let you go."

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SHIT," the former EJ DiMera fumed, pacing before his father frantically while listening to the conversation in which his ex-wife just agreed to marry the man who was having his daughter watched. "What the hell does she think she's doing? And WHY is this man still alive?"

"Elvis, why do you care what your ex-wife does, hmm?"

"I don't care WHAT she does but I do care about who she's with when said person is spying on my daughter! I want that son-of-a-bitch gone!"

"You're still much too impulsive, my son. Alexandros Kiriakis is more useful to us alive right now. You don't want him to disappear before we have all the answers."

"Do you know about this guy? Why is it I've never heard of him before a couple of days ago?"

"He's Victor's nephew and best-kept secret. He's been using the last name Cook for several years to disassociate himself with the family. Up until recently, he's kept a pretty low profile and was never in Salem for more than a day or two here or there. I really didn't see any reason to mention him."

"So then why are you suddenly so interested in finding out what he's all about?"

"Do you not also wish to know WHY he was watching Sydney? Hmmm? Or maybe you'd rather not entertain the idea that perhaps your ex-wife put him up to it."

"No, she wouldn't. Nicole would never do anything to hurt Sydney."

"I agree, my son, that she wouldn't want to, but Nicole lives in her own little world with her own set of rules. You know how she feels about Samantha. If she were to run off with Sydney she'd justify her actions by declaring Sydney is better off with her because Samantha is an unfit mother."

"Well I can't disagree with that," EJ mumbled under his breath, avoiding his father's detection. Ever since moving to Hollywood, the closest thing Johnny and Sydney had to a mother was whichever nanny Samantha had hired to watch them while out galavanting with celebrities lasted the longest. Most didn't stick around for more than a couple of weeks due to Samantha's holier-than-thou attitude.

"He's on his way back to Salem, right? Perfect! I'll just call up my good friend Victor and insist he introduce me to his charming nephew. In the meantime, I'll have our people do some more digging."

EJ nodded, seemingly deep in thought. "Just promise me one thing, father. If it is revealed that Nicole had anything at all to do with this, you'll let me handle it on my own terms. I don't want her touched."

"I am not concerned about Nicole. It's this one we have to watch out for. There's much more to his story Elvis, I guarantee you that. If he's been doing dirty deeds for Victor all this time, I have no doubt some of them were directed at us."

If Stefano DiMera had any idea at all exactly how low Victor would go, he would have realized that he already held one major clue that would lead to the discovery of the most heinous act of hatred against the DiMera family in all history of the times their respective families were at war. He actually had the exact dates of when Alexandros Kiriakis was seen in Salem, and one of those dates was October 5th, 2012. The same day his own plans were thwarted to steal Nicole's baby boy, unbeknownst to EJ even, to keep him with the DiMeras where he belonged.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Somewhere between Buenos Aires and Salem on the Randor-Lewis jet

Same Day

Xander began to stir from his sleep and was becoming fully aware of the gentle stroking of his chest. With eyes still closed, a smile crept across his face as he imagined the beautiful face of his lovely caregiver who was responsible for the soothing strokes. When his eyes finally fluttered open to capture the actual view, he realized he hadn't quite yet perfected ingraining her face in his memory, for Nicole Walker in the flesh, sitting beside him with her back propped up against the headboard of the bed in the sleeping cabin of his jet, was even more drop-dead gorgeous than the Nicole Walker of his imaginings. Of course it was entirely possible that the imagination was only capable of producing so much, and that the only differences were observances that were unique to real-life experience for everything else from the shape of her eyes to the location of her few freckles was pretty much spot-on.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," she greeted him rather tiredly herself. "You OK?"

The pain becoming more and more prevalent in his side triggered an instant reminder of why he was being asked that question. The knife wound hurt like hell, but it was nothing he couldn't take like a man so there was no need to alarm her. "Yes, Love, I'm fine," he assured her as he attempted to pull himself into a sitting position, but the strain the movement put on his abdominal muscles intensified his pain, causing a forbidden yelp to escape his lungs.

"Liar. Hurts like a bitch, huh?"

He took a deep breath and made a second, successful attempt to sit up, even though the pain only escalated during this particular try. "It does, but it'll be fine. I will be fine. More importantly,"he began, changing his tone along with the segue into a new subject as he slipped his arm between her and the headboard currently supporting her back, and pulled her into a new, cozier position in his embrace. "How is my bride-to-be this morning?"

"Afternoon," she corrected him promptly, "You slept a good eight hours already. We've only got a couple hours to go until we're home."

"I see you're avoiding my question," he accused her with a kiss to the top of her head to soften the scolding. "Did you get any sleep?"

"I'm not tired," she mumbled groggily into his chest, well aware of the fact that he was onto her lies before even hearing him state his beliefs.

"You're a liar too. You probably didn't get a minute of shut-eye all night, did you?"

Nicole shrugged unapologetically. "I was worried about you. Even after Navidad assured me you were in the clear, I was afraid you'd start barfing in your sleep after the five gigantic cheeseburgers she made you eat to replenish your blood supply."

"Well, I am awake now and as your fiance," he began, thrusting his chest forward and speaking mock authoritatively, "I am ordering you to take advantage of the next couple hours and get some sleep."

"I see. Is this how married life is going to be all the time? You barking out orders for me to follow or else?"

"Of course not, Love. It's not fair you should get to have all the fun! I like being bossed around too, you know. Especially if you should happen to be wearing a little black leather number while doing so," he said, grinning sheepishly after his rather candid admission. "Just saying..."

Nicole shook her head with feigned disapproval but, in reality, she was elated to feel sexually desired again by someone she actually had a mutual interest in. And she had to admit it did sound like an awful lot of fun from both angles.

"Well, when we are married we can have all the fun we want but, until then, I think we both need to be on our best behavior."

"What do you mean," Xander said, turning his full attention to her with a panic-stricken look.

"Well, you did say you wanted my help selling you, the company, and us to the residents of Salem so I've been busy coming up with a plan, and since part of the plan involves making us both at least appear to be model citizens, we'll have to keep separate residences until we're married."

"I'm not sure I like my woman doing all this thinking. You're too smart for my own good, Nicole Walker. What other brilliant ideas has your beautiful mind conjured up?"

"You need to enter Salem with a bang, figuratively speaking of course, so you're going to need to do something that's going to make a huge impact right away. I've read up on the non-profit organization you started and there are many families in Salem who could greatly benefit from having a local chapter in town. I think it would be an especially nice touch if you happen to mention that it was me who influenced you to do it since it was initially my interest in your organization that brought us together."

"So, in other words, it's ultimately all about you, you, and you," he teased, planting a kiss to her forehead.

"My image needs a whole lot more work than yours does, babe. I guarantee you someone will bring up the porn star thing in no time."

"And that's when you speak up and tell the truth about what happened to you."

"Precisely, but it's not like I haven't tried before, just nobody cared to listen. But they will if I have a respected, reputable, successful, and charming businessman such as yourself advocating for me."

"I would do that regardless if it was part of the plan or not."

"I know," she responded, smiling contently as her body seemed to sink further into his embrace.

"And just think, after we've made the public fall in love with us, we'll have thousands gathering outside the church just to catch a glimpse of us emerging as the happy, just-married couple. And then, the day that we bring our first -born son or daughter home from the hospital, we'll have to weave our way through a maze of flowers and congratulatory gifts sent to our home to welcome our new addition."

Her brain effortlessly conjured up vivid images fitting the scenes he'd just described in great detail, but she didn't stop there. All she could think about now, as she slowly drifted to sleep in his arms, was holding that baby, and not just any baby, THEIR baby, and just how they would go about making that happen had pretty much been the main topic of discussion during their stay in Argentina. Since evidently there was no issue with the integrity of her eggs, and so long as his sperm was still doing it's thing, they could have a child of their own through the use of a surrogate. It was almost unbearable to think that it might be close to a good two years before they would bring a baby into their home, but it would be every bit well worth the wait, and the truly beautiful part of it was that she knew he wanted a family every bit as much as her and there were no ex-partners or children from other relationships to complicate things for either one of them. At least not that they presently knew about.

* * *

Three Hours Later

"WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING HERE? I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO MAKE SURE YOU DROP HER OFF AT HER USUAL STREET CORNER BEFORE COMING OVER HERE," Victor barked at Xander as he and Nicole strode into the living room of the Kiriakis mansion hand-in-hand.

"Nice to see you to, as always, Victor," Nicole responded, feigning flattery by batting her eyelashes at her ex-husband.

"I WISH I COULD SAY THE SAME, BUT THE ONLY WAY IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE YOU IS BURNING IN HELL."

Xander glared at Victor incredulously. "Uncle, please. That's quite enough! I'll not have you speaking to my fiance that way!"

Nicole had to bite her lip to keep her amused grin from spreading across her face.

"OH NO, ALEXANDROS, TELL ME IT ISN'T SO," Victor said sarcastically as he scowled at the pair of them. "IS THAT THE REACTION THE TWO OF YOU WERE HOPING FOR? MAYBE IF WE HORRIFY THE OLD MAN BAD ENOUGH WE CAN SEND HIM TO AN EARLY GRAVE? NICE TRY. YOU'RE BOTH MORE IDIOTIC THAN YOU LOOK IF YOU BELIEVE FOR A SECOND I DIDN'T SEE THIS COMING!"

"Uncle, I assure you, my only intention was to share our good news," Xander insisted, using his well-rehearsed look of sincerity.

"SAVE THE ACT FOR SOMEONE WHO WILL ACTUALLY BUY YOUR CRAP. YOU'RE YOUR FATHER'S SON SO IT'S IN YOUR NATURE TO TAKE PLEASURE IN DEFYING ME."

"Uncle, I-"

"I REALLY DON'T CARE WHAT THE HELL YOU DO TO HER, JUST GET HER OUT OF MY HOUSE. WE HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT!"

"What is all the shouting in here for," Brady said poking his head in through the doorway leading into the main hall. "I just put Tate down for a nap, Granddad. I can hear you all the way up in the nursery."

"I'm sorry Brady," Victor apologized with the milder tone that Xander believed was reserved for just about everyone in the world aside from himself and Nicole. "If you would be so kind as to assist in removing this whore from my house, perhaps we can restore the peace."

"Granddad," Brady replied shooting Victor a disapproving look as his only offering of coming to Nicole's defense.

"It's OK, I'm going," Nicole conceded before grabbing Xander by the collar of his black leather jacket to pull him toward her for a departing kiss. "See you at my place later," she stated as more of a demand than it was a question before reluctantly backing away and trotting out the door.

"DEAR GOD! IT'S WORSE THAN I THOUGHT," Victor exclaimed as he looked at Xander with bewilderment.

"What is?"

"YOU AND THAT WHORE!"

For the first time in well over a week, Xander felt "the Hulk," as he sometimes referred to his anger outbreaks as, surfacing once more. "With all due respect, uncle, I will NOT allow-"

"I AM DONE TALKING ABOUT HER, DAMN IT! RIGHT NOW THE ONLY THING YOU AND I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IS WHY YOU WERE HAVING SYDNEY DIMERA WATCHED AND WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO TELL STEFANO THE REASON WAS LATER ON SO START TALKING, BOY!"

* * *

Meanwhile...

"Hey, Nicole, wait up," Brady called after her, nearly out of breath as she neared climbing in Xander's car. "I was hoping I would catch you. Wanna go grab a cup of coffee with me so we can talk?"

"Um, sure," she replied cordially although she wanted nothing more than to go home and nap until Xander was finished suffering Victor's wrath. "Climb in."

"You're driving Xander's car," he inquired with a raised eyebrow that screamed disapproval along with the usual skepticism.

"Why is that such a shocker? I already explained to you over the phone a dozen times that we're together now."

"Yeah, yeah I know, I guess it's just that it's still...well, shocking."

"I know, isn't it? I found someone who actually enjoys being around me. Truly amazing."

She drove them into town where they picked up coffee at Club TBD, then took their beverages to go, opting to take in some fresh air in the town square. That's when all of a sudden she felt the pack of velociraptors closing in on her. She glanced up to find Eric, Rafe, and Daniel all closing in on her swiftly, leaving her no opportunity to escape.

"OK, what the hell is going on here, a fucking intervention" Nicole questioned Brady harshly when she came to the realization he had been the one responsible for coordinating this ambush.

"Nicole, thank god, we're all so relieved to see you, alive and well," Eric said as he squatted down beside her, looking to her with concern. "Are you alright? Did he do anything to hurt you?"

"Wait, y'all are kidding me, right? Seriously?"

"Yes, baby, seriously," Daniel said as he slithered an arm behind her chair. "When Serena found out about what happened, she broke down and told us all about what kind of a guy Xander is. We know he forced you into-"

"Xander didn't force me into anything, so I don't know what in the hell you're getting at!"

"Nic, this guy may check out clean but I'm tellin' ya, he's no good. I may not have the goods on him, but I've got good instincts and those instincts tell me this guy is bad news, with or without Serena's testament," Rafe piped in to offer his buddies some back-up.

"Did any of you even stop to consider that Serena has a hidden agenda, and that agenda happens to be that she is a scorned ex-lover of Xander's, out to get her revenge?" It sounded good. It was much better than admitting that the early stages of her new found relationship with Xander were a bit unorthodox. "She can't stand the fact that Xander had a thing for me from the start when he came here. Jealous little red-headed bitch."

"I'm not buying it, Nicole," Eric said, shaking his head. "I know you would never give up a good thing with Daniel for-"

"A 'good thing' with Daniel," Nicole interrupted furiously. "First of all, Daniel and I weren't even A thing, let alone a good one! Secondly, since when do you give a shit about what happens to me, Eric?"

Eric flinched, clearly taken aback by her harsh accusation. "Nicole, come on. You know I care about you."

"Oh yeah? Well you sure have a funny way of showing it. And that goes for all of you assholes. You all know how to find me when you need some advice or cheering up, but never once have any one of you ever supported me when I'm down or encouraged me to go after something I want. In fact, all y'all seem to know how to do is constantly remind me of how much of a screw-up I am."

"Nic-"

It was Eric and his blubbering self again whose sudden concern for her well-being agitated her beyond comprehension. Perhaps it wasn't concern at all and just pure discontent over the fact that someone who had wronged him so was actually experiencing some happiness. Either way, he was pissing her off.

"No, you know what, I'm done. And for your information, I love Xander. I LOVE him! And guess what? Look at that," she said as she flashed her diamond ring adorned hand in front of them for inspection. "He loves me too and he's asked me to be his wife. I'm getting married! Ha! All I can say is, if any of y'all ever really loved this, then you shoulda put a ring on it. Peace out." She grabbed her coffee and sauntered away, opting to take an extended route home through the park to kill some time as she was sure it would be several hours still before Victor dismissed Xander from whatever important business it was they had to discuss.

She took a seat on one of the benches down by the lake and took the time to enjoy her coffee before it got cold. Although it was the onset of what should be the warmest period of the summer, it had been unseasonably cold from the start and as the evening grew on, so did the need for a jacket, or something long sleeved at the very least. Since Nicole had neither, she found herself rubbing her bare arms in between sips of her coffee, but she suddenlt also got the feeling that her chills weren't solely a result of the crisp, cool air. She suddenly had the feeling that she was being watched. She turned around to inspect her surroundings, fully expecting to find Eric, Daniel, or any combination of them and her two other friends gazing upon her with concern, but there was no one there. At least no one she could see. That's when she concluded that Xander's security he mentioned must have kicked in.

She was right, to an extent. Her own personal bodyguard was looking over her carefully but what she didn't know was that he was only one of two people keeping an eye on her at the very moment and that the other person was not hired by her fiance and was clever enough to to hover about undetected from the one who was. In fact, this man was her fiance's worst nightmare if Xander would ever imagine in a million years that this person could still pose a threat.

"Still beautiful as ever, Nikki," EJ whispered aloud with the secret hope that his words would somehow find their way to her and reveal himself "accidentally" since contact with her or anyone was still forbidden at the time. He knew his return to Salem one day was inevitable, but for him it couldn't come soon enough. For nearly two years since the day he "died" he couldn't wait to return to reclaim his prize. For quite some time it appeared to likely be an easy win, until Xander Cook came into the picture.

He was sure that by destroying Samantha, which, to give her credit, she really did mostly on her own, he could finally convince Nicole to come back to him, especially if he could once again offer her exclusivity as the mother figure in Johnny and Sydney's lives. Samantha's poor parenting skills combined with the cleverly crafted plot to frame her for his attempted murder, he was sure to get sole custody of his children for life, and legally.

"I could kill that bloody Xander Cook," he grumbled under his breath for about the umpteenth time over the last few days. Little did he know, in just a few months time his feelings about Mr. Cook would change drastically. So drastically so that instead of calling for the man's head he'd rather shake his hand to thank him for practically handing Nicole over to him on a silver platter. There was no way in hell that she would ever marry the man who played a role in kidnapping their son.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Three Months Later

Saturday, October 3rd 2015

"Nicole? Where are you," Xander shouted in a voice tailored to be loud enough that it could be heard from any room of the majestic, completely renovated, Victorian mansion they were currently touring. It was their third consecutive weekend of house-hunting and, up until today, neither of them had been impressed by the homes-for-sale that they had seen. However, judging by the way Nicole's eyes had lit up when they first pulled into the drive and the zealous looks she constantly shot him during the guided portion of the tour, he believed that they had finally found their future home.

"Nicole Walker, come out, come out wherever you are?" From the main hall, he strode toward the kitchen to further investigate. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes since their realtor retreated to her car so they could explore the home by themselves and already she was lost. He had thought she was right behind him when he entered the huge left-side parlor, yammering on about how he thought it would be the perfect place for their Christmas tree, but when he turned around to seek her approval, she was nowhere in sight.

The kitchen was empty and the entire first level of the three-floor mansion seemed to be deserted aside from his own presence. When he finally took a moment to actually assess where she might have run off to, he shook his head at his own stupidity, for he knew now exactly where to find her. He crept quietly as he could up the wooden staircase, fully aware that the steps were still subject to some creakiness due to the age of the wood that was original to the 1878 mansion. He was hoping that she wouldn't hear him coming so that he could sneak a peek at what she was up to. She had the most adorable habit of talking aloud to herself when she believed no one was listening, and if she was indeed where he imagined she would be, it was going to be an enjoyable show. He had already caught her on several occasions having conversations with their future children.

He saw that his suspicions about her location were right when he spied her from the doorway of the room that the current family was using as their nursery. What he didn't expect to find was her sitting in the rocking chair by the window, elbows on knees and face in hands, crying her eyes out. He immediately ran to her side and dropped to his knees beside her.

"Sweetheart, what is it," he inquired, growing somewhat panicky from sheer concern. He guessed that her breakdown was baby-related in some way, but it was the first time that she'd reacted this way during their house-hunting adventures, where making sure that the home had the perfect space for a nursery and enough bedrooms for at least three children to have their own rooms was pretty much the main objective.

"Oh, hey...I'm sorry," she said, immediately jumping from her seat and wiping away tears that still continued to fall despite her efforts to instantly shut them off. "I didn't hear you coming."

Her apologetic behavior and forced smile was painful to watch. He imagined she had carried on through most of her life like that, much as he had, hiding her pain from others as if her suffering was some major inconvenience to anyone who might bear witness to it. He wasn't about to let her get away with that with him though, and she knew it. Her old habits were dying hard but the important thing was that they were in fact dying. When he rose to his feet to join her and pulled her to him with one arm around her waist and the other lovingly coaxing her head to his chest, she broke down into a fresh round of uncontrollable sobbing.

He allowed her to get in a good cry and simply held her and kissed the top of her head until her tears began to subside on their own before pressing her to reveal the source of the breakdown. He understood how difficult it could be for one to share when they felt pressured, especially at a time when they were already overwhelmed with emotion.

"Why are you crying, Love? What set you off?"

His voice was so soft and soothing that it was hard to believe this was the same man whose angry shouts once directed at her had been so loud that they actually made walls vibrate. In fact, in the three months that they'd officially been a couple, that Xander seemed to have up and disappeared altogether. These last three months had also been the happiest of her life, even surpassing that precious time when she and EJ were together and Sydney was as good as hers before what she had done with the baby switch had been revealed. But it had all been a lie. Well, most of it was anyway. The only part that wasn't was that she truly loved EJ and Sydney with all her heart. It was believing that he loved her as much and Sydney would be hers forever that had nearly destroyed her when it all fell apart. Now, for the first time in a long time, she finally had another chance to secure her happily-ever-after and this time, her prince was indeed very much in love with her and only her and her best shot of having a healthy baby that was actually hers was so close to being within her reach that she could taste it. But even the excitement of finally having a child would never stop her from grieving for the ones that she had lost, and on days like today it was especially difficult to celebrate. Although the actual date of the anniversary of the incident was still two days away, it was almost three years ago now that she'd given birth to her stillborn son.

"On Monday it'll be three years since I lost my baby boy," she spoke softly and coherently though her voice was still a bit shaky and nasally as one would expect after a good cry. "Seeing all those signs for that dumb harvest festival on the way over here started the whole thing. I remember that was going on when it happened."

"I'm sorry, Love. I didn't realize we were encroaching on the date it happened," he said, followed by a kiss to her forehead while his strong arms tightened their comforting embrace around her.

"It's OK. Actually, I don't think I even told you exactly when it was so I wasn't expecting you to know. Ugh, it's just that stupid poster of that ridiculous pumpkin in the over-alls and straw hat that gets me every time. Right before I found out I had lost him, I was picturing myself bringing him to the festival the next year, pushing him around in the stroller wearing his own little pumpkin costume. I thought for sure he was going to make it. I was so close."

Even though the recollection of that terrible time was no doubt painful for her to revisit, she was smiling her way through the tears. His own heart was throbbing within his chest, grieving for her, with her, but while his heart was busy empathizing, his mind was facing a different challenge.

It was that stupid poster of that ridiculous pumpkin in the over-alls and straw hat that was plaguing him too. He had seen the posters throughout the town too and just like it had done for Nicole, it served as a link to a significant memory of his own. He had only been to Salem a handful of times in his life since most of his dealings with Victor had been overseas, but there were a few times that he'd stopped by on his own accord just to say hello while passing through, even though his uncle frowned upon it, and one isolated incident when his assistance had actually been requested there. It was a time he would never forget. The fact that Victor had trusted him with such a top-secret mission had meant the world to him, and the fact that it involved helping to protect Philip made him feel especially honored, even if he didn't quite understand Victor's reasoning.

It didn't make sense that Victor would want to keep Philip from his son, even if the boy's mother was nothing more than a two-bit floozy he'd picked up at a bar for a one-night stand. He clearly remembered the date of his visit there being October 6th, thanks to the poster which explained the ridiculous amount of traffic he'd battled getting into town by stating October 6th was the first day for the festival. The year was 2012, three years ago, for sure because he remembered the conversation he'd had with Victor about it being fifteen years since his mother had passed. That meant he was in Salem the day after Nicole delivered her baby and he had left Salem later that night with the baby he believed was Philip's, born the previous day. But why would Victor keep Philip from the baby, and still to this day? It made no sense to him then and it made even less sense now. But of course it wouldn't make sense if it had all been a lie. _What if? No...no, it's only coincidence. There's just no way. I mean, he hates her, yes, but could he hate her enough to..._

"Xan?"

His brain was most thankful for the interruption of it's thought process, especially considering the absurdities it had managed to conjure up.

"Sweetheart, what? I'm sorry. I just can't even imagine how awful that must have been." He was well aware that she must have asked him something that didn't quite register, but he was much too ashamed to admit he hadn't been listening.

"It was, but let's not talk about it any more for now, ok? I'd much rather talk about this house. What do you think?"

"I think it's bloody damn near perfect," he gushed enthusiastically, eager to discuss and ponder more pleasant topics. "It's got all that old charm that you and I both like so much yet it's got all of the modern conveniences we realistically need. And six bedrooms in addition to the master suite? That leaves plenty of room for our family to grow."

"Really," Nicole exclaimed excitedly as she began hopping in place. "Does that mean we're going to make an offer?"

"Not only are we going to make an offer, we're going to make them one they can't possibly refuse because may I remind you, Miss Walker, our wedding is only two months away. When I pick you up to carry you over the threshold, it's going to be here in this house."

"Yay! I'm so excited! And I can't believe our wedding is only two months away!"

"Mmmm hmmm, and then we can focus on having our baby. Just think," he began as he stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his lips to her ear, speaking sweetly. "By this time next year, you and I could be standing in this room watching our brand new little girl or boy sleep."

Nicole felt as if her face wasn't nearly wide enough to accommodate the resulting smile brought on by the lovely picture he painted. "Doctor Novak says we're good to go as soon as we find our surrogate, and if we really want to be pregnant by New Year's, we've got to find her soon so we can get all the paperwork and preliminary stuff squared away."

"Then I'll get right on it first thing Monday morning and make us appointments with the agencies she recommended. We'll go as soon as they can squeeze us in. There isn't anything work-related coming up this week for either one of us that can't be rescheduled."

"I can't wait to tell Brady about all the baby stuff at the dinner tonight. You don't mind, do you? I just feel like I'm gonna bust if I don't share it with someone and he's pretty much the only one who's come around to accepting you and me together."

"Of course I don't mind just, please, darling, do me a favor and don't let Uncle Victor catch wind of it. You know I don't give a damn what he thinks about us, but at the same rate I really don't want to hear it either. Bedsides, I haven't seen Philip in ages and I'd like to visit with him a bit before we both end up getting thrown out on our asses for telling Victor where to shove it."

"Believe me, today's not a good day for Victor to start pulling his crap with me. My plan from the get-go was to just avoid him as much as possible, cuz I really want to see Philip too and I'm especially curious about this lady friend he's bringing."

"Good. She'll have someone to talk to while I grill him for info." Such as determining if he was even in Salem to impregnate someone in the first place. Didn't Brady mention that Philip hadn't been back since he left in the spring of 2011? If that was true, then there was no way that baby could have been his unless the woman had met him wherever he happened to be at the time. Given Victor's description of the girl, it was somewhat of a stretch to believe Philip had some sort of previous encounter with the woman or that he would bother to summon her. Again, it never did make sense, none of it, and Xander was anxious to find out if Philip could shed more light on the subject. Not that he really believed that baby had any ties at all to Nicole's baby. Again, ridiculous. Mere coincidence. Victor may hate Nicole but he'd have no reason to want to take her baby away from her _._ Except that he hates her with a passion and had been heard on several occasions proclaiming his desire to see her suffer. Oh, and the baby is also half DiMera. Oh, and apparently there was already some kind of plan in play where he'd found a way to stick it to the DiMeras good as payback for a laundry list full of things. _Fuck. Oh holy fuck. Please God, just let me be wrong about this one little thing._

But God never did seem to listen to him. At least that's what he thought for most of his life until he'd met Nicole. Up until just an hour or so ago he'd actually believed that God took mercy on him and forgave him for his sins and that's how Nicole came into his life. Now, he was beginning to realize that it was all nothing but a cruel joke on him for she had been handed to him only long enough for him to fall in love with her before she would be ripped away, leaving him completely broken. That's exactly how it was going to happen because as much as he wanted to be wrong, he had a terrible feeling that in this case, he wasn't.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Lather That Evening

Kiriakis Mansion

With martini in hand, Nicole parked herself next to Philip's 'lady friend' on the sofa, then leaned over to give the mystery woman a big hug. "I still can't believe you and Philip are here together. Don't you know you're not allowed to keep these kinds of things from your best friend?"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," Chloe Lane began regretfully as she returned her friend's hug with equal enthusiasm. "But you have to understand this all happened so fast. I'm really still completely in shock over the whole thing."

"Understood," Nicole stated, feeling the need to take a sip of her drink to aid in digesting Philip and Chloe's shocking revelation herself. "All this time Philip was really Parker's daddy. You two really must have run the full gamut of emotions dealing with that."

"I really feel weird about saying this since my son is so sick, but if weren't for his diagnosis...I have to wonder if I would ever know."

Nicole grabbed her hand in one of hers and covered their entwined hands with her other. "This happened for a reason," she said as she stared intently into Chloe's eyes in one of those rare moments when she cast all humor aside and addressed the topic with the seriousness it deserved. "Parker is making a full recovery from the surgery and his prognosis is good, thank God, so don't feel weird about thinking it. Truth is, if he hadn't gotten sick while he was with you in Chicago, you might never know the truth. If Daniel could pull off the paternity switch to begin with, I'm fairly certain he could continue to protect his secret if he had control over his care, and then Parker would have been cheated out of having the best possible bone marrow donor."

"I still can't believe Daniel would do such a thing. He had us all fooled, even Victor. Do you think Xander would be interested in beating his ass again for me?"

Nicole laughed heartily as her eyes searched the room for the man in mention. Her man. Her big, strong, sexy, Daniel-Jonas-loathing man. "I'm sure he'd be happy to," she informed Chloe, still searching for Xander with no success. "Especially considering Victor would probably pin a medal on him for doing so now. He's not very happy with his precious godson."

"Where is that hottie of yours, by the way? I still can't believe he's the same dude I bumped into on my way out of the elevator that one morning. I should have known you were already all over that. You were ready to claw my eyes out just for looking, weren't you?"

"Um, excuse me, but I think your exact words were, 'when I come back I'm gonna get me a piece of THAT,' so no, that doesn't qualify as 'just looking."

Chloe giggled. "Well, I was under the impression you and Daniel were trying to get something going! I didn't know he had just left Daniel's apartment and you two had been messing around in Daniel's bed like a pair of horny teenagers while he was in the hospital."

"Hey, I did not sleep with him," Nicole corrected her, trying to keep a straight face which lasted for about two seconds before she gave in to the burst of giggles to follow.

"Yeah, but you totally would have if the hospital hadn't called when they did. You said so yourself so don't even try to deny it."

Nicole smiled. It was so nice to have her friend back, the one and only female friend who she could tell anything, and the news that she was coming back to Salem to stay seemed almost too good to be true. That was because just about everything in her life seemed to be going her way lately and that was something that made her extremely nervous, especially when she saw no reason for anything to go wrong. At least when she'd been the one fucking things up, it had been somewhat expected when her world had come crashing down around her. The two times she had been completely blindsided though, one occurring right after the other, had destroyed her. Even though she survived and lived to tell the tale, when she found out EJ had cheated on her with Sami, then lost the baby they'd conceived together without any warning eight months later, her body may not have perished but everything else that defined who Nicole Walker was did.

"Ah, speak of the devil." Nicole's entire face lit up upon seeing Xander stroll into the room, followed by Philip close behind. Initially the sight of him alone was enough to make her smile but when she noticed the disturbed look on his face and the forced smile he offered in return when their eyes met, she knew immediately something was wrong.

"Ladies," Xander said, extending his greeting to include Chloe as he slipped his arm around Nicole's waist and pecked her on the cheek. "You two having fun catching up?"

Nicole hated this version of Xander, Mr. Roboto as she liked to call him, at least when he was addressing her. He was doing and saying all the wonderfully appropriate things a charming, well-mannered man should, but a trained eye like hers could see that his mind was a million miles away.

"Apparently about as much fun as you were having with Philip."

"Yes, I do apologize for kidnapping Philip, Chloe. You have to understand it's been ages since I've seen the old lad."

"Well at least Nicole was here so I didn't have to be left all alone with Victor. Where is the old buzzard anyway?"

"I just saw him walk out with Philip a minute ago," Nicole piped in. "Looks like you lost your boyfriend for a while again."

"I guess that's what happens when you don't put a leash on them."

"Oooh, Xan would like that. Wouldn't you, honey?"

Ordinarily, Nicole supposed that comment might have resulted in two possible reactions. Xander would either play along and own up to the fact that he would indeed enjoy that, or, he would take her aside and 'scold' her for embarrassing him in front of the family and promise to 'punish' her for it later. She would have been fine with either one, but she wasn't fine with him meandering away while he texted on his phone as if he hadn't heard a word. She rolled her eyes exaggeratedly at Chloe and found herself to be the one who was truly embarrassed by the situation.

"Work stuff," Nicole offered as an explanation for his strange behavior, but Chloe seemed to be completely unaffected by the display anyway.

"Ah, I'm used to it. I swear that phone is actually fused to Philip's hand."

"So, I guess it's just you and me again, which I guess is good because there's something I have to ask you."

"Ask away," Chloe replied with a smile, popping the olive from her martini into her mouth.

Nicole beamed from ear-to-ear as she proudly asked, "Will you be my maid of honor?"

* * *

" _Will you be my maid of honor?_ "

EJ could hear those words repeating over and over again like a broken record long after he switched the audio feed over to the transmitter in the study where Victor was having words with Philip. It wasn't even Nicole's particular request for Chloe which had him reeling, it was how happy she sounded. Daniel and Eric, they were no threats to his plans for Nicole. Once he resurfaced and incriminated Samantha and had the children's situation secure, he would be free to move in and reclaim what was his, even if she had by some miracle made it to the altar with either one. Alexandros Kiriakis on the other hand was about to ruin everything.

Why on earth was he listening to his father anyway about this creep? The bastard outright admitted he was having Sydney watched and photographed so he could potentially use her to control Nicole if such measures were to become necessary. Apparently in their early stages of getting to know each other Nicole had stumbled across some secrets he wasn't sure she could deal with and Sydney was going to be his device for keeping her quiet. The fact that he never had to implement his plan didn't do much to quell his fury. If he had been anywhere near that room when his father had that little sitdown with him and Victor, he wouldn't have hesitated to have someone slit the prick's throat right then and there, but no. Father said be patient. Of course father didn't know getting Nicole back was also part of the plan, and time was ticking.

His father was convinced that their patience would pay off. Somewhere along the line, Alexandros was bound to reveal something that could be useful to them, but so far the only thing useful he learned about him was that he was allergic to cats, which he supposed could be an amusing way to sentence him to death when the time finally arrived. The current conversation between Philip and Victor was quite amusing at least. From what he could gather, Philip was pretty weirded out by Xander's courtyard interrogation of him which he unfortunately missed out on due to poor transmission. Still, what was alarming to Philip barely caused himself to raise an eyebrow.

Alexandros' outgoing texts was another story entirely. There was quite an interesting exchange going on between him and this Navidad person who worked for him, where he implored her to talk with Angelo in attempt to recall as many details as possible about a job they did in Salem back in October of 2012.

 _Navidad_

 _Are you talking about the baby?_

 _Xander_

 _Yes. I need to know everything you and Angelo remember. EVERYTHING_

 _Navidad_

 _OK boss, but not much to tell on my part. Angelo was the only one to interact with anyone outside our little circle. Why? What's going on?_

 _Xander_

 _I need to know what happened to that baby_

 _Navidad_

 _uh-oh, that doesn't sound good. Sounds like Uncle Victor is not pleased about something_

 _Xander_

 _Actually, Uncle Victor can't know anything about this so please, keep it QUIET_

 _Navidad_

 _Does this have something to do with Philip being back in town? Is it finally time to reunite father and son?_

 _Xander_

 _No. I don't think Philip has anything to do with this at all actually_

 _Navidad_

 _Ah, back to the theory that Philip wasn't the father. So what's the deal? Why are you so concerned about this baby?_

 _Xander_

 _I think it's possible the baby might have been Nicole's son_

Not even half a second passed between the time his brain processed the information and when he picked up his phone and began frantically dialing his father. It had taken Stefano a good ten minutes of listening to his son rant and rave before he could draw a coherent answer out of him.

"Will you please take a deep breath and calm down and tell me what in the world has got you so upset, my son?"

"What has got me so upset, father, is that my son with Nicole might be alive and I will be DAMNED if I'm going to let that SON OF A BITCH KIRIAKIS FIND HIM BEFORE I DO!"

* * *

Kiriakis Mansion Dining Room

"I have an announcement to make," Victor said as he raised up out of his seat, causing all dinner party attendees to immediately cease whatever conversations or activity they might have been in the midst of to offer their host their undivided attention. Well, except for Xander who was still busy texting away on his phone. "Philip, Brady, Alexandros, I'm glad you're all here tonight because I would rather address this with you all personally before I take my announcement to the boardroom."

"Oh, come on, granddad. Do we have to talk business tonight?"

"I'll keep it brief, I promise, but it's something you all need to hear, especially you, Alexandros."

Nicole had to nudge him in his side to alert him that he was being addressed. He looked to her with confusion until a nod from her head in Victor's direction clued him in. "Oh, yes uncle?"

"I'm proud of you, my boy, and I want everyone here to know that. You've really impressed me with the way you've turned your life around and I couldn't be more proud to call you my nephew. I have decided to officially retire which means Philip and Brady will be moving up, and Brady's position is up for grabs. I would be honored if you would accept the position."

Every single one of Nicole's hairs stood on edge as she observed Xander's intense, piercing stare toward Victor.

"Why thank you, uncle. I think you know very well how much this means to me."

Victor's smug smile in return was all Xander needed to see to know his suspicions that his uncle knew he was onto something were correct, but his words offered further clarification. "Of course I do. That's why I'm offering it to you."

Later the same evening Victor's Study

"What did you want to speak to me about, Alexandros? I hope I made it clear that business talk is off-limits for the remiander of the evening."

"Don't worry, uncle. Believe me, what I have to say is very personal. I just wanted to see how you were doing, you know, after hearing the shocking news that Parker is your grandson after all."

"Well, what else can I say except that I'm appalled by what Daniel did."

"Me too. It's a rather hellacious act, don't you think? Keeping a father separated from his son, I mean who would do such a thing? Certainly not you, right?"

"OF COURSE NOT ME, I WOULD NEVER-"

"You would never, what, uncle? Would you care to state this for the record?"

"Just let it go, Alexandros. I know what you're up to and believe me, after working this hard to get where you are you DON'T want to go there."

"Or what? You'll disown me? It'll never happen because the truth is, you need me and you know it."

"Maybe that's true, but let me ask you a question. Do you think Nicole feels the same way? Do you think she would be able to see past ALL your little misdeeds like I have, and offer you the same unconditional love and understanding if some rather unfavorable information about you were to come to light? I mean, really, Alexandros. Try explaining that one."

"So you admit it! It's true!"

"I admit nothing. We're simply discussing what a fickle bitch Nicole Walker can be."

"YOU STOLE HER BABY! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HIM?"

"A little word of advice, my boy. Are you more concerned with EJ DiMera's baby or your own? You can't have them both."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

One Month Later

"Wow, this house really is gorgeous," Chloe gushed as she stepped in through the main entrance as the first official guest of Nicole and Xander's new home. "And this view of the Salem River is breathtaking! Who knew there was more to this towm than the park and that dumb town square."

Nicole giggled as she excitedly grabbed Chloe by both hands and dragged her in toward the heart of the home to do some further exploring. "Come, come, you have to see the rest! And don't mind the boxes, we still have some unpacking to do."

"Looks like you're pretty moved in to me. This place is already looking fabulous," Chloe said as she took in all the grandeur of the impeccably decorated left side parlor which would serve as the couple's default entertaining space.

"Yeah, all that's left is the dorky personal stuff we can't part with but still don't quite know what to do with," Nicole explained as she dusted off her blue jeans and pulled her shoulder-length hair back into a ponytail with the elastic around her wrist waiting in reserve until needed. "Well, my stuff at least. Xander has no shame in displaying all his crap in his man cave. I never met anyone else who had an extensive whiskey bottle collection."

"Hey, better there than anywhere in your territory, which you do realize is the entire rest of the house."

"Yes, I know," Nicole said with a sly smile. "Surrendering the basement was a small price to pay for complete control over the rest of the house."

"So are you officially moved in here or what? I thought you weren't moving in until after the wedding but it seems you two have been spending almost every night here."

"I guess we are," Nicole admitted with what Chloe detected to be a forced smile. "Most days, by the time Xander actually gets home from work we're both too tired to go back to one of our apartments so we end up just staying here."

"So, have you two fucked in like every room of this place yet?"

Nicole considered just outright lying to her best friend for a moment, but considering the fact that she knew Chloe would see right through her and her need to get things off her chest, she ended up breaking down in tears instead.

"Oh my god, honey what's wrong," Chloe inquired as she escorted a sobbing Nicole to a nearby sofa and coaxed her to take a seat. "Come on, sit down. Tell your bestie what's going on."

"I don't KNOW what's going on, that's what's wrong. All I know is that everything has changed and I don't know why."

"You mean Xander has changed?"

"Yes," Nicole nodded emphatically. "I mean before he was all for my plan. Marriage first, then comes the house, then the baby. Now it's like he just can't wait to get everything all over with. He thinks there's no need for us to wait to move in, and he actually suggested, several times, that we fly out to Vegas and get married and just have our wedding here for show. And now, now he wants us to make a decision on the surrogate tonight so that we can get her knocked up even before the wedding! When I ask him what's with the urgency, he just gives me that phony-ass smile that I hate and says that he 'just can't wait to spend the rest of his life with me."

"So it's the smile that gives him away, huh?"

Nicole shook her head in disagreement as a new wave of tears began to fall. "I wish it were only that. It's everything, Chloe. The way he holds me, and kisses me, and tells me he loves me...it's different than it was before. I could FEEL his thoughts without him saying a word. Now I feel like I don't know him at all. If I try to confront him about it, he gets so defensive and then we argue, and he gets violent-"

"Whoa, wait right there," Chloe interrupted fiercely, her voice almost reaching the scream level. "He hit you?"

"No, oh god no, I didn't mean that," Nicole answered quickly in his defense. "No, he would never do that. He does seem to have a penchance for breaking glasses though. Even broke a few of his precious whiskey bottles."

"I hate to say this Nic, but maybe this is all happening now for a reason. Sometimes people just aren't who we think they are at first. Maybe it was only a matter of time before you saw his true colors. Heck, maybe he knows he's scum and you're a queen and that's why he's so desperate to snag you. He wants to make you his before you go and change your mind."

"No," she replied, shaking her head frustratedly. "It's not that. There's something wrong, Chloe. Something is upsetting him or something and for whatever reason, he doesn't want to talk about it and that's not like him. After all our late night talks and every intimate detail we shared, I can't imagine there would be anything he would keep from me. We've become each other's best friend for God's sake, and I know that he still loves me, I do. If I didn't know that, I don't think I could go on like this. If he can't tell me-"

"If he can't tell you, then it concerns you," Chloe interrupted firmly. "It's the only explanation."

Nicole frowned. "I agree, but how? How it concerns me is the question."

Now it was Chloe's turn to frown. "I hate to be the one to say this, but do you think maybe he cheated? Sure he might love you, but you know how these asshole guys are, especially in this town. He probably got drunk at the bar, had himself a one night stand, and feels terrible about it but doesn't know how to tell you the truth."

Nicole shook her head violently from side to side as if trying to shake the disturbing image Chloe just painted for her from her brain. "Was that supposed to make me feel better cuz I gotta tell ya...not doing the job!"

"I'm sorry, I certainly wasn't trying to make you feel worse. But even if it were true, I suppose there could be worse things than a drunken one night stand, right?"

"Right," Nicole said quietly, now deep in thought herself as she pondered what those worse things just might be. Whatever Xander was hiding, she was sure it somehow fit into that category.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Xander's office

 **Navidad**

 **Giallourakis is dead.**

Leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on his desk, Xander stared at those words on his cell phone screen intently, trying to make sense of it all. Cosmo Giallourakis was the third person who had ties to the baby job to turn up dead in just a forty-eight hour period. He was sure this could only mean one thing and that was that Victor was onto him and this was some last-ditch effort to keep all those involved permanently quiet. He wasn't really surprised they would squeal on him as each and every person he questioned was unwaveringly loyal to his uncle, so much so that he got absolutely nada from them. What didn't quite make sense is why Victor would feel the need to murder them, especially so gruesomely, in order to protect a secret he was already well aware he knew at least something about. Very odd.

Then again, maybe not all that bizarre. The man loved no one and lived only to control and torture people, and he had soon learned through working so closely with him for the first time that even Philip and Brady weren't safe from his petty torments. The only thing that Victor Kiriakis truly loved was making people miserable, and Nicole was right at the top of the list of unfortunate subjects. Although the precise words of admission he needed to hear were never spoken, he knew that Victor had taken her son. He still didn't have an ounce of evidence to prove it, but he was determined now more than ever to find the boy and reunite him with his mother, even if it meant losing her forever.

But that decision hadn't been an easy one to make, although it should have been...would have been for any decent person. For the first two weeks since he made the connection, he tried convincing himself that it wasn't Nicole's baby after all and he only had an over-active imagination, but between his conscience scolding him for being a selfish prick and Nicole telling him he was the best thing that ever happened to her, he finally broke down. He couldn't talk to her, look at her, make love to her, tell her he loved her, without feeling like the world's biggest liar.

Not that it was any easier to face her now. She knew something was plaguing him terribly and the fact that he couldn't discuss it was causing a rift between them, but how in the world could he tell her anything at all about it until he actually found the boy? Really, try explaining that one. _Well, I'm pretty sure my uncle stole your baby and the reason I know is because I helped him take him from you!_ Her reaction would probably be much the same regardless of if she believed him or not: she would keep as far away from him as she possibly could. Of course if she didn't believe him, he could and would continue his search anyway, but if she DID believe him, it could be disastrous for everyone involved. If Nicole knew her son was out there, she would do whatever it took to find him and with himself now being the enemy, she would likely seek the help of a very powerful ally who would have a common interest in her quest: Stefano DiMera.

The vibration of the phone in his hand signaling an incoming text shook him violently from his reverie. He had been expecting Angelo to get back to him with an update on another contact, but this particular message was another one that he'd been anticipating since hearing of the murders.

 **Uncle Victor**

 **ALEXANDROS! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AT ONCE!**

He rehearsed a hundred different variations of what he would say on the way over but really, what was the point? One way or another, he was going to have to tell Nicole the truth eventually and then it would all be over and no rushed marriage or baby could do anything to put a stop to it. Why should he worry about Victor demoting or disowning him if he no longer had anything worth living for? _Because you have to find the boy, you stoop, and until you do, you have to keep playing your cards right. So what if you'll be miserable, you have the power to take away some of her pain._ And for that, all his suffering would well be worth it.

"Uncle," he called out as he popped his head in the main living room of the Kiriakis mansion. He hadn't seen Victor at first because for once he was seated in his chair, calmly sipping a drink instead of pacing to and fro with steam shooting from his ears.

"Sit down, Alexandros."

"I got here as fast as I could. It sounded urgent."

"Oh you better believe it is. You have some serious explaining to do, young man."

"I don't under-"

"CUT THE CRAP AND EXPLAIN TO ME WHY THREE OF MY BEST MEN ARE DEAD! YOU DON'T THINK I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN OUT THERE SNIFFING AROUND ABOUT THAT BABY? WHAT KIND OF A FOOL DO YOU TAKE ME FOR?"

"Fine, I admit I've been asking questions, but I certainly didn't harm anyone!"

"BULLSHIT! YOU GOT A HOLD OF THEM AND TORTURED THEM UNTIL YOU GOT WHAT YOU NEEDED. WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THE BOY? PLEASE DON'T TELL ME HE'S ALREADY WITH THAT BITCH!"

Xander felt his limbs grow cold as his blood slowly drained from them to some undisclosed location. "What are you talking about? I don't have the boy."

"OH REALLY," Victor inquired with an incredulous chuckle. "I SUPPOSE HE KILLED HIS GUARDIANS HIMSELF THEN AND IS ROAMING AROUND THE WOODS FORAGING FOR NUTS AND BERRIES TO STAY ALIVE. OF COURSE HE'S WITH YOU! WHERE ELSE WOULD HE BE?"

* * *

Meanwhile...  
Private airport outside of Athens, Greece

"Will you stop pacing, Elvis? You're going to wear a hole right through the bottom of this plane."

"Why is it taking them so bloodly long to get here?"

"It's not, you're just over-anxious, my boy."

"Well aren't you?"

"I am excited, yes, but trying to not get too excited until we know for sure."

"I already know," EJ said wistfully as he glanced down at the picture of the precious little three-year-old boy on the screen of his phone. "I don't need some silly DNA test to prove it. That's my boy. That's my son. I'm going to meet my son today."

"Elvis, please, wait for the results before you fall in love with this little boy. You can't be convinced he's your child with Nicole just because he has blue eyes and a dimple in his chin."

"Yes, and besides that he looks just like me!"

EJ felt his heart and lungs stop as he watched the black luxury car with the tinted windows pull up next to the DiMera jet on the tarmac. Despite his strict instructions per his father about leaving the jet for fear of being seen, he found himself springing down the jet bridge to go and officially meet his son, grabbing a stuffed puppy dog that he'd purchsed for this occasion along the way. He could hear the boy screaming already from inside the car and he was immediately overcome by a mixture of both empathy and anger. The fact that his own son was terrified of him infuriated him, but the only thing he wanted to do more than make the persons responsible pay for the moment was to put his son at ease.

In effort to appear less intimidiating, he got on his knees on the ground outside the open door of the vehicle and used the puppy dog to build a bridge for his son to come to him.

"Hi Adrian. My name is EJ, and this little guy here is my friend, Buddy."

"Hi, Adrian," EJ said in a high-pitched, ridiculously cartoonish voice reminiscient of Elmo, speaking for the puppy of course. "Would you like to be my friend?"

The ridiculousness apparently was a success since it at least got little Adrian, a name that would soon be changed as soon as he and Nicole could decide on one, to stop screaming. Still, his little boy's persistent tears and sad face just about broke his heart.

It took him a good half hour of playing puppeteer before he could convince his son to come to him but if it had taken two hours, or two days, or two weeks, then so be it for he was not going to do anything to make his son afraid of him. When his little boy finally allowed him to pick him up, he instantly felt life restored to a part of him that he long ago thought to be lost. He was holding his son! His son with the woman he loved more than anyone. It was so hard to not pick up the phone right then and there and call her, but it was impossible...for now. As soon as he was sure the boy was safely secured, he would send for her, but not yet. Everything had to go exactly according to plan and that meant that he must send for someone else first. With Adrian in arms, he communicated his demand to his group of merry henchman in passing.

"Bring me Alexandros Kiriakis. Now."

* * *

Meanwhile...  
Xander and Nicole's house

"You're home early," Nicole remarked to Xander rather sarcastically as she glanced at the grandfather clock indicating it was just before ten PM. "To what do I owe this honor," she called after him as he already began to trail his way up the stairs. Tears started stinging her eyes already when he didn't even offer her the courtesy of a response. She decided right then and there that enough was enough and tonight she was going to get an answer out of him even if he threatened to huff and puff and blow the house down. She simply couldn't go on like this for another day.

By the time she hit the second flight of stairs she was feeling abnormally fatigued, allowing him to get a decent head start upstairs. By the time she made it to their bedroom, Xander had already had time to retrieve a suitcase from the closet which he had begun to pack.

"Where are you going," she asked demandingly, inserting herself in the way of the clothes carelessly being tossed into the open luggage.

"I have to go away for a while," he replied coldly, not daring to look into her heartbroken eyes. "I have something I need to take care of."

"Does whatever this is have anything to do with why you've been behaving like such an asshole?"

"No, I suppose I'm behaving like an asshole because I AM an asshole."

"OK, come on...stop it. You're not an asshole-"

"Yes. I am."

"No, you're not, you're just acting like one because you won't tell me what's bothering you."

"It doesn't matter anymore. I don't owe you any explanations because I'm leaving."

Nicole put her hands on her hips and got right up in his face. "Oh no you don't, just because you're taking a jaunt out of town doesn-"

"I'm not only leaving town," he interjected loudly enough to overpower her voice. "I'm leaving you."

Tears started streaming down her cheeks while his words cut her to the bone, but they were only words. Thank God they were only words. "It's a good thing you can't fool me, Xander Kiriakis. You know what a wreck I would be right now if I believed you?"

'Well you better start believing it soon because it's true."

He couldn't pack fast enough although he wasn't sure which reason begged for more urgency: getting Nicole's son back from who he supposed was the DiMeras, or escaping Nicole before he changed his mind and went back to being selfish Xander just so that he could stay with her forever. _You can't have them both_ , uncle Victor's words still haunted him.

His momentary inner struggle distracted him from his game long enough to not see Nicole coming. Before he knew what hit him she had jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his body as she pulled him into a powerful and passionate kiss, one that he couldn't get away from even if he tried. For the time being, he was not trying.

"You can't look me in the eye and tell me you don't love me," Nicole insisted as she did everything within her power to to lock eyes with him, but he wouldn't look at her. It was like he couldn't look at her even if he wanted to.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Nicole. Whatever it was we had for that short time, we'll never get it back. It's too late now."

"Xander, what are you talking about?"

"I promise one day soon it'll all make sense and then you'll be glad to be rid of me."

"Xander, please. Whatever is going on with you, let me help! Let's work this out together, that's what couples do! You imply that you've done something unforgivable but, Jesus Christ, at least give me the chance to decide that for myself!"

"Our fate was already decided for us, Nicole. There's nothing you can do about it now, please, just let me leave."

She at least let him get as far as outside the door, but not for lack of will for him to stay...she just simply couldn't find the strength to stop him.

"Xander! I love you, damn it! Why can't that just be enough?"

He halted outside the door frame and turned around and for the first time that evening, dared to look her in the eyes. "I love you too. I love you so much, Nicole Waker and I guarantee you that soon, you will know the answer to your own question because you will look at me, and you will hate me, and I will beg you to forgive me and to understand because I love you but in the end, for you, it will not be enough." With that, he turned and left and made his journey down the stairs.

"You're wrong," she screamed down the stairs after him, weeping emotionally now. "I think love is enough."

"I hope you're right," were the the last words he spoke to her before pulling the door closed behind him.

"I know I am," she said aloud softly before collapsing onto the bed and breaking down into a fit of uncontrollable sobbing that lasted until she didn't have a tear left to cry and drifted to sleep out of sheer exhaustion alone.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Ten Days Later

Nicole groaned frustratedly as she heard the doorbell ring for the third time within a minute considering she had no way of answering it for the time being given her present state, which was on her knees, hovering over the toilet. In fact, she hadn't wandered very far at all from the bathroom or at least a wastebasket for the past two days, but this morning the vomiting had been particularly bad.

She didn't think much of it the first couple of times she threw up. She was certainly upset enough to affect her body physically and although she was sure part of what she felt was the results of sheer anguish, she had been through this enough times now to know beyond a shadow of a doubt what the main culprit causing her nausea, vomiting, breast soreness and fatigue was. She was pregnant. Had to be.

The doorbell had ceased ringing and now persistent pounding on the front door had taken it's place. She thought she could faintly hear Brady's voice, which would certainly make sense since he had vowed the night before to stop by and check on her at some point today. With Chloe, Philip, and Rafe all out of town, Brady was the only close friend available at a time when she needed her friends the most. He had also been most helpful and supportive in her attempt to reach out to Xander, calling and texting him himself to either try to convince him to come home and talk things over or at least divulge his location so they could go and track him down together. When neither one of them could get a response, he'd even talked to Victor on her behalf, again getting absolutely nowhere. She didn't expect to get much out of the old man, hell, Xander's disappearance could very well be his doing to begin with.

After feeling a bit better from heaving into the bowl yet again, she pulled herself up, freshened up in the sink, then slowly made her way downstairs, holding tightly to the railing to support her rubbery knees, to let Brady in.

"Jesus Christ, Nic, you look like hell," Brady said with alarm in reaction to seeing a usually vibrant Nicole looking so pale and weak. "Come on, let's get you to a couch."

"It's ok, Brady, I'm fine," she insisted, cooperating with his escort to the couch regardless. "I'm just upset."

"Yeah, yeah I know you are, and so am I. I hate to see you like this."

"So I assume by your lack of breaking news that you haven't heard anything?"

Brady shook his head regretfully. "I'm sorry. Not a word. Did you have any luck getting through to that chick? What's her name?"

"Navidad. Nope. And not Angelo either. But I'm sure Xander gave them instructions to keep quiet."

"I wish there was something more I could do. You're right, Nic. There is definitely something fishy going on here. It just doesn't make sense...the guy is crazy about you."

Nicole wasn't sure which emotion to credit for the tears stinging her eyes. "Really? So you really don't think I'm nuts and just refusing to believe that it's over?"

"No, I don't think you're nuts. Besides the fact that anyone can see Xander is madly in love with you, I know for a fact that my granddad knows more than he's sharing. Of course if he's determined for no one to know, then we'll never find out."

"Really? We'll just see about that now, won't we." She jumped to her feet, determined to run out the door, hop into her car, and go pay her dear ex-husband a visit herself. Instead, she found herself losing her balance and falling to her knees.

"Nic," Brady shouted in horror as he immediately ran to her side and sunk to his own knees beside her. She seemed to be in a daze almost as if trying to remember how she ended up on the floor. "Oh my God, honey, are you OK?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I just felt a little dizzy."

"Well, come on. Let's get you up and back over to the couch and I'll grab you some water, OK?"

"Yeah," she nodded agreeably. "That sounds good."

With Brady steadying her from behind, she slid one foot to the floor to push herself up on but that was the very last thing she remembered before she awoke to find herself being rolled out of her house on a stretcher. _Oh God, I must've passed out_ , she realized at the same time she found herself being loaded into the ambulance.

"Brady!"

"Hey, hey kiddo I'm right here," he said, poking his head into view. "I'm gonna ride with you, Nic. Don't worry. You're gonna be OK."

She was sure it was just exhaustion and dehydration she was suffering from, much like what she had went through during the first trimester of her last pregnancy. There was no pain or cramping or anything at all to indicate there might be a problem with the baby, thank God. Well, not yet anyway. She found her hand inching it's way to her stomach which was about as close as she could get to holding her baby for now.

"Brady, please, do me a favor. Please see to it that Daniel doesn't get to treat me, OK?"

"Hey, that goes without saying. After what he did to Chloe and Philip-"

"Yeah, I know. I can't believe they still let that bastard practice."

"Well he's not going to practice anything on you, I promise. Now, you just lay back and relax, OK? We'll get you checked out and find out what's going on. I'm gonna text Xander and let him know too. I don't think he could keep his back turned to you now, regardless of what's going on."

* * *

Meanwhile...  
In a secluded villa in a quiet Italian village...

 **Brady**

 **Dude, please answer me. Nicole is being rushed to the hospital as we speak. She needs you, man. Call or text ASAP**

"Shit," EJ said as he reread the alarming text message on Xander Kiriakis' cell phone at least a dozen times. "Come on Brady, tell me you're lying and this is just some cheap trick to get Xander to answer you." But of course he couldn't send a text as 'Xander' saying so much, and certainly not to Brady. In order for his plan to work, Nicole must be the only one to hear from him and he had been patiently waiting until he was one hundred percent sure she was so desperate to see her future husband that she would cast all caution aside and agree to fly out here to Italy to meet 'him.' His original plan had been to send that text tonight. He grabbed his own phone and called his men in Salem assigned to watching Nicole to confirm her whereabouts. Sure enough, she had been brought to the hospital.

"Oh God, Nikki, what's wrong with you?"

He prayed he didn't push her too far. It had been tough to sit back and listen to her cry, even if it was over the man who was responsible for kidnapping their son. Nicole already had quite possibly the shittiest hand in life God had ever dealt to anyone, and he wasn't making things any easier on her now, and the worst was still yet to come. It was going to hurt to find out that her future husband not only played a part in their son's disappearance, but that he also sat on the truth instead of doing anything to find her son. Well, it was true to an extent. By the time she heard it all she would want Xander dead every bit as much as he. It was the only thing stopping him from killing the miserable prick who was currently cuffed to a chair in his holding cell in the basement. He'd been there for five days now and every day he was sure to go and spend some quality time with his prisoner.

The poor bastard already knew he was defeated. Mr. Kiriakis had been quite surprised to find that he, EJ DiMera, was the one who had taken Adrian. Of course, who wouldn't be? Even Victor Kiriakis didn't have a clue that he was still very much alive. He supposed that Xander was probably clinging to some fantasy that Nicole would forgive him, but once Xander saw what he had to go up against, he knew he no longer stood a chance in hell at winning her back. Xander Kiriakis, kidnapper simply could not compete with EJ DiMera, husband and father to their rescued, long-lost son.

Normally, about this time he'd be making his way down to the basement to give his prisoner his daily beating after sharing a tidbit or two of audio featuring Nicole, but he had bigger things to worry about tonight. Most of all he just worried she was alright. And there was only one way to find out. He picked up Xander's cell phone once more and began to type his text.

* * *

Meanwhile...  
Back at Salem University Hospital...

Kayla Brady peered over her chart as she began relaying the good news. "Well, Nicole. I'm happy to say there is nothing seriously wrong with you, but you are going to need to stay here in the ER for a little while so we can get some fluids back in you. You are pretty dehydrated, ma'am, surely because of all the vomiting you've been doing. I understand you suffered from severe Hyperemesis Gravidarum during your last pregnancy as well."

"So I am pregnant?"

"Yes, you most certainly are."

"Third time's a charm, right?"

"I hope so, Nicole. I truly do. If you don't already have another doctor in mind, I'd be happy to make a recommendation for you. In fact, Dr. Novak is here right now. Given your condition, I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem examining you immediately. I would guess he would want to do an ultrasound too so there's a very good chance that you could see your baby today. I'm sure it would give you some much-needed peace of mind to know exactly what is going on in there. Would you like me to talk to him?"

"Oh, Kayla, yes. Thank you."

"You're welcome. You sit tight, ok, and try to relax. I'll see what I can do."

Nicole allowed her head to sink back into the pillow where she took several deep, deliberate breaths to calm her nerves. "You hear that, little one? Mommy's finally going to get to see you today. Don't you worry, OK, cuz we're going to figure this whole thing out. Between you and me, we're gonna make this work. Just promise mommy that you'll give me a warning if something is going wrong, OK? We can get through this."

God, how could this have happened? Well, to be honest she knew exactly how it happened. Between settling into a new relationship, a new job, a new house, running a charity, and planning for a wedding AND a baby, she knew very well that it was more than just a few occasions when she didn't take her birth control on time. The real question was WHEN did it happen? She'd been using the pill to skip her periods too so she really had no way of narrowing it down except for the appearance of her symptoms which typically would begin to surface anywhere between four to eight weeks. Considering she hadn't yet noticed her clothes getting tighter, she made her official prediction that she was probably closer to four weeks along.

"Nicole? Hi, I'm Bobby. I'm gonna take you down for your ultrasound, ok?"

Her hands gripped the railing of the bed tightly as it winded through the maze of long hallways leading to the ultrasound room. She was both terrified and excited to see her and Xander's beautiful creation for the first time, and yet so deeply saddened that he wasn't there to share the moment with her. She'd silently debated if she should wait for him but she knew that the health of their baby was paramount to EVERYTHING else, especially with her track record for carrying them. Still, it didn't change how much she desperately wished he was there at her side.

"Hi, Nicole, I'm Dr. Novak," the friendly, jovial man said as he extended his hand to her. "Dr. Brady told me to take extra-special care of you so that's what I intend to do. I'd like to take a peek and see what's going on in there. Are you ready to meet your baby?"

Nicole nodded. "Yes, but I have to ask...did Dr. Brady explain my history?"

"She did," he nodded affirmatively. "I also took a look at your history myself so I know you must be having some very mixed feelings right now."

She nodded again. "I just don't know if I could bear another loss."

"I understand," he said empathetically while squeezing a mound of ultrasound jelly onto her stomach. "I did see that you had almost made it to term during your last pregnancy, and all the notes from your doctor visits didn't seem to indicate any complications aside from your severe morning sickness. Was there anything else significant that happened that I'm not aware of?"

"Well, aside from being nearly blown up when the whole town exploded, I was under a lot of stress. I was stressed about being pregnant, stressed about my ex..."

"Stress is definitely not good for the baby or for you, but I'm afraid we may never know the answer to why you lost him. I'll tell you one thing that I learned from your last pregnancy though. I don't see any reason why you can't have a healthy baby, Nicole. I hate to say this because I'm aware of how cold it sounds, but sometimes these things do just happen."

"But what about the scar tissue, from the gunshot wound?"

"It was definitely an issue in your first pregnancy, but when your uterus is stretched from a pregnancy it is forced to reshape itself and it never does quite go back to the way it was before. Again, I'm fully aware of how harsh this sounds, but your first pregnancy was really what made it possible for you to have a future chance of actually carrying a baby to term."

"So you're saying I can really have a healthy baby here?"

"Before I jump too far ahead, let's take a look, shall we?"

Nicole found herself concentrating hard on her breathing as if she didn't she would somehow forget to breathe altogether. Although she knew logically it was only a matter of seconds, it seemed more like an eternity had passed between the time the wand hit her stomach and the screen lit up with the image of her little unborn babies. Nope, not a typo. Babies. Plural.

Before Nicole could manage to squeak out what she was seeing on the screen to obtain conformation, Dr. Novak settled the issue without prompting. "Well Nicole, I stand corrected. I should have asked you if you were ready to meet your babies. Congratulations! You're having twins."

"Twins," she repeated in a whisper. "Twins? How are they? How do they look Are they doing OK?"

"I have to say so far everything is looking great. I see no cause for alarm aside from the usual risk factors. We do have to get your Hyperemesis Gravidarum under control but that can be done easily with some medication for the nausea and a few diet and lifestyle changes. And although I must say you don't look a day over twenty-five, I'm sorry to say we do have to consider your true age and there are some things to look out for there, but really, so many women your age are having healthy babies all the time. I will now say, yes, you can really have TWO healthy babies here."

"OK, so what...give it to me, what do I have to do here, Doc to make this happen."

"The very best thing you can do right now is just rid yourself of all the stress in your life, including your worries about the babies. I know your feelings are justified, but you've really got to do your best to maintain a stress-free environment. I'll give you some instructions to take home with you, but the gist of it is, cut the stress, get plenty of sleep, stay hydrated, and make sure you're eating enough for three."

"So how far along am I and when am I due?"

"Let's see here...judging by their size, which by the way is about as big as a peanut in it's shell right now, I'm putting you at about nine weeks."

"Nine weeks? Really? I don't think I've even gained a pound! Not that I've actually been weighing myself, but I certainly don't feel like it."

"It's really not all that unusual to not have a significant weight gain early on, especially if you're eating what you would eat normally. Believe me, Nicole, I wouldn't lie to you. Your babies are doing great. Now, to answer the second half of your question, I'm giving you a due date of April 23rd."

"April 23rd? Really?"

"Yes, really! Is that a significant date for you?"

"It's their father's birthday," she said with a faraway smile.

"It's a good omen, you know."

"I know. And believe me, Doc. I could sure use one right now."

* * *

Later

Xander and Nicole's house

"Are you sure you're going to be OK," Brady asked her for the umpteenth time since escorting her not only into the house but up the stairs and to her bed as well.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. I am hydrated and not throwing up anymore so it looks like this little stomach bug has finally passed."

"If it weren't for Tate,-"

"GO! Go home to your little boy," she said giggling to act as assurance she was fine. "My phone is right here somewhere," she began as she patted around the bed to locate it where she thought she'd left it in the house earlier. "Voila," she said, thrusting her hand up in the air grasping the phone she'd just retrieved from beneath the covers. "Here it is. I'll have it right here beside me so I promise you, I will call you if I need you, and you can call me a hundred and one times to check on me." Her smile faded just before adding on a little addendum. "And you will still call me if you hear anything from Xander, right?"

"Yes, yes of course I will. Scout's honor," he said, bending down to kiss her cheek before saying his final goodbye and trotting out the door.

"Oh god, Xander. Where are you?"

She picked up her phone to resume her quest and nearly dropped it to the floor when her screen lit up displaying her most recent text message.

 **Xander**

 **I was devastated to hear you are sick. I want to see you but I'm afraid my current predicament makes that impossible, as it also does to use this phone in the future so please understand this is the last time I can contact you. When you are feeling better, call this number, 011 39 24 555 4859, and one of my men will give you instructions how to get here. I'm so sorry, I can't explain now but this is the ONLY way. Hope to see you soon. I love you.**

"Did you hear that, peanuts," she said, addressing her unborn children with the nickname she would use for the duration of her pregnancy from this day forward regardless of how big they actually grew. "We're going to go see your daddy and he is going to be so excited to hear about you, and mommy will have no reason to be stressed because we're all going to be together again."

If only she knew her predictions of a stress-free environment couldn't be further from the truth...


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Italy

Next Day

"Miss Walker, please, have a seat," Renaldo, as Nicole learned his name was on the way to the villa from the airport, suggested as he gestured toward the luxurious, antique, claw-footed sofa. "I'm afraid Mr. Kiriakis is not back yet. Can I get you something...coffee, tea, water, or perhaps something stronger, while you wait?"

"Um, water would be great, thank you." She really didn't feel like drinking anything. In the state she was in, she was afraid even the tiniest little sip of water might induce another round of vomiting she felt brewing just beneath the surface. On the other hand, she desperately needed it to swallow down one of the pills for nausea that Doctor Novak had prescribed for her or she would find herself heaving into the nearest wastebasket very soon. The only question was, was it morning sickness making her feel sick to her stomach, or the fact that she was scared to death? Probably both.

In her haste to be reunited with Xander, she'd turned a deaf ear to all the warnings that her conscience had issued her. Why was Xander being so secretive about his whereabouts? What was he doing in Italy? Was he in danger? If so, why would he put you at risk by sending for you? That was the question that bothered her the most. The answer was; he wouldn't. He wouldn't do anything to put her in danger. It was all beginning to make sense now. After returning home from Argentina, they'd had a lengthly discussion about his often dangerous missions and he'd made a promise to her that now that they were about to become a family, those days were over. He'd spent the last ten years recruiting and training minions of his own for when the day would come that he was set to retire from that division of the family business. Not only was he constantly at risk of losing his own life, as Nicole had witnessed him coming alarmingly close to, but one botched job could potentially put all of them in jeopardy. She'd had a good ten hours to stew all this information over while sitting on the airplane, which happened to be a commercial flight by the way...another thing that she found to be odd. By the end of her trip, she'd come to the conclusion that the only thing that made sense was that he was in some kind of trouble and more than likely, she had just willingly walked herself into some kind of trap.

She accepted the glass of water, flashing Renaldo a perfectly executed, gracious smile and waited for him to turn his head before popping a pill into her mouth and forcing it down with just the tiniest sip of water. "Can I ask you one thing, Renaldo? Is Xander in some kind of trouble? What's going on?"

Renaldo smiled politely in contrast to the shaking of his head to the negative. "I'm afraid my orders are to not speak of Mr. Kiriakis' business to anyone, including you. Don't you worry, miss. It'll all be clear soon."

"Thanks for nothing," she said wrinkling her nose at him; an expression that caused him to smile in reaction. Renaldo certainly was pleasant enough to almost put her at ease. He seemed to be genuinely kind, and was enthusiastically attentive to her needs, but that didn't mean he wasn't capable of locking her up in a room and demanding ransom money for her release. _If that happens, peanuts, don't worry. Mommy won't let anything bad happen to you._ Don't worry...who was she kidding. She was already worried enough for all of them.

* * *

"It looks like our guest of honor is here," EJ said, pacing back and forth in the villa's own custom-made holding cell before Xander who was helplessly bound to a sturdy metal chair which was bolted to the floor. "Do you want to see her," he said tauntingly as he held the screen of his phone displaying a live video feed of Nicole from upstairs in the living room before Xander's face." I must say she looks ravishing, don't you think?"

"I swear to god, if you try to lay a hand on her, I'll-"

"You'll what, pray tell? Kill me? I assure you, that's not going to happen. You see, I'm going to kill YOU and once I tell Nicole that I have in custody the man responsible for stealing our son, believe me, she'll want to kill you herself. In fact, that sounds like a better idea than me doing the job, doesn't it?"

"I'm telling you, I had no idea the boy was yours, or Nicole's. Not until recently."

"Right, and once you found it he was, you got right on top of that, didn't you? Or did you? If you were so determined to find him, why did I beat you to the punch?"

"I WAS determined to find him," Xander barked back, struggling with the restraints he knew very well would not budge. "I just didn't think I needed to torture and kill people in my own network to do so."

"Ah, you see...that is the difference between you and me, and that is why I will walk away with the prize. Even if Nicole were to forgive you, which we'll say just for argument's sake she does, you will still lose. We share this child now, you see, that we both would kill for. I really don't expect you to understand since you haven't been blessed with children and likely won't be anytime, well...ever, and I assure you you'll never come face to face with Adrian. You've seen my pictures though...he's beautiful, isn't he? I think he's a perfect fifty-fifty blend of Nicole and I, don't you think? He's got her electric blue eyes and that adorable little dimple in the chin, but my dark hair, skin-tone, nose, and over-all shape of the face. You can't deny that he's precious. I saw that look on your face when you saw his picture. You smiled because you thought, 'oh what a cute little boy' and I'm sure you noticed his resemblance to Nicole right away, but I'll tell you what else I saw. I saw bitterness, and jealousy."

"You see what you want to see, you pompous prick! I was thinking no such thing!"

"I believe you wish you hadn't felt that way, but you did. All you could think about was how Nicole's son being alive would interfere with your future plans if by some miracle you made it out of here alive. Isn't that what made you stall in finding him in the first place?"

"So what if I think selfish thoughts on occasion, I'm only human. I would never do anything to hurt Nicole. I love her more than anything."

"Unfortunately for you, so do I. Now, if you'll excuse me, there is a long overdue reunion awaiting me."

Xander waited patiently to seize his moment. To try and speak to soon he knew he would certainly be gagged. He waited until the door to his cell was wide open, then screamed with all of his might, unaware that it would do no use anyway considering the entire basement level of the villa was soundproofed.

"NICOOOOOLE!"

* * *

Since Renaldo had left the room temporarily, Nicole took advantage of this unsupervised moment to do some snooping, if you could call it that. She was Xander's fiance for heaven's sake. IF he had been the one to send for her, she was completely justified in looking around and even if he hadn't, her host sure wanted her to believe he did. It still didn't stop her from looking over her shoulder like a naughty child going for the cookie jar before opening each drawer of the little desk stationed by the window.

"Who are you," the little voice startled her so much that she literally jumped with both feet at least a few inches into the air. Before her brain could process all the details, she imagined she was caught doing something she shouldn't be doing, sealing her fate. When she finally put the pieces together and saw that speaker was the antithesis of threatening in the form of an absolutely adorable little boy, she both sighed with relief and smiled broadly.

"Hi, there," she said, sinking to her knees to be at eye-level with the dark-haired tot who was standing just a few feet away. "I'm Nicole. What is your name?"

"The little boy frowned. "Oh, I thought you were my mommy. She's supposed to be here soon."

"Oh," Nicole said, throwing a hand over her gasping mouth. "I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"It's OK. You're just as pretty," he stated matter-of-factly as he stared across at her with eyes full of wonder.

"Well thank you, aren't you the perfect little gentleman," she said, reaching out to cup his sweet little face, momentarily casting aside all the new questions accumulating in her brain. "You never did tell me what your name is."

"ADRIAN?"

But it wasn't the boy speaking. It was that familiar voice with the distinct British accent she had grown to know so well. Wait a minute. British, not Scottish. Wait...did she mean to say Scottish?"

"ADRIAN? Where are you?"

No, it was definitely not Scottish, and definitely not Xander, but it certainly was familiar. Almost sounds like...well, that's impossible.

Nicole watched the little boy hold a finger to his lips to silence her before he ducked behind the long curtains covering the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, grinning ear-to-ear. Whomever it was coming was apparently the other participant in a game of hide-and-go-seek.

Nicole felt her entire body begin to quiver as the familiar voice grew closer. Chills shot up her spine from the half her brain that recognized the source, regardless that the other half was desperately trying to dismiss the ludicrous association as a mistake. Again, impossible.

Even seeing him appear in the doorway didn't do much to establish what she was seeing and hearing as reality at first. For the first few seconds that their eyes made contact, they were both silent. Of course she probably couldn't have spoken if she wanted to. She was much too preoccupied just trying to remember how to breathe.

He was the first, and only one for the time-being, to speak. "Hello, Nikki. Long time, no see."

She tried to respond though she had no idea what it was her brain intended to say. Unfortunately, before she could tap in and try to retrieve whatever transmission it was that got lost, her brain and body both went into overload and completely shut down. Still on her knees, she collapsed backwards and was caught by EJ just in time before her head could hit the floor.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

"Nikki? Nikki, come on, sweetheart...open your eyes."

Nicole's eyes fluttered open upon hearing the instruction. For a moment she believed she would open her eyes to find herself in bed with Xander, safe and snug in their new home, and that the whole bizarre thing with EJ was only a dream. In her half-sleep state, she didn't have all the gears working to enable her to place the voice to the right face. It took her brain about a minute to process what she was seeing all over again.

"EJ!" She was laying on the floor with her head on his lap, staring straight up at him. She must have fainted. Her short term memory was slowly filtering back in and she remembered feeling woozy after seeing him for the first time since he'd died. Since he'd DIED. What the fuck? She suddenly sprung out of his lap and jumped to her feet and began to back away while still facing him.

"NO! Nonononononono NO! You're dead! You're dead! What the fuck is going on here?"

He sprung to his feet just as quickly in case he needed to stop her from running out the door. Not that she could really since he had guards stationed at every exit specifically to stop her from doing just that. At least until he'd had the opportunity to reveal his reason for bringing her here. Once she found out that the adorable little boy she'd encountered was her son, the guards would no longer be needed. She wouldn't dream of going anywhere without him. He slowly stepped toward her, but for every step he approached, she took two backwards.

"Nicole, listen to me. Sweetheart-"

It was this that made her stop dead in her tracks. "Sweetheart? Where do you get off calling me sweetheart? What the fuck is going on?"

"I'm more than willing to explain if you'll just come over here and have a seat and listen."

She was already feeling lightheaded again. At this point, sitting down seemed like a really good idea so she cautiously made her way over to the sofa and settled in, keeping a watchful eye on EJ the entire time. Aside from the shock, stress, and confusion, which she was fairly sure were the main causes of her blackout, she was beginning to feel nauseous again and she'd barely eaten a thing in the last twenty-four hours now when she should be eating for three. If she didn't do her best to try and calm down and get some food in her system, she was putting the peanuts in jeopardy before she even had the opportunity to tell Xander all about them.

Xander. Oh god, wait a minute. The text she'd received to come here had come from Xander, didn't it? It certainly came from his phone at least. Was he here?

"Where's Xander?"

EJ frowned in effort to play the role of the regretful trickster. "I'm sorry. It's the only way I knew of to get you to come willingly." Of course Xander WAS there, and he'd be more than happy to coordinate the reunion when the time was right. He had to be sure she wanted to see him dead first.

"If he's not here, then how did you-"

"Come on, Nikki. You've seen first-hand what my tech people can do. It wasn't that hard to send you a text appearing to come from Xander."

"How do you even know about him? Have you been spying on us?"

"I've been wanting to see you for a very long time. I admit, I have been checking up on you."

"Why? What the hell do you want from me?"

"Well, at first, I just wanted to see you. I think about you all the time, Nicole. You're really the only one I think about, aside from the children, of course."

She shook her head in disgust, mainly for allowing herself to feel even the tiniest bit sentimental over his admission. "You mean to tell me that you don't miss Sami? The love of your life. Your wife, for crying out loud!"

"I don't, actually. Weren't you the one to tell me that I would never be happy with her?"

"Well, yeah...I knew that, but try getting it though to your thick skull. What happened, is she too preoccupied filming her upcoming appearance in the new Sharknado movie?"

"Wait a minute...she's not seriously doing that, is she? Somebody actually gave Samantha an acting job?"

"Well, from what Sydney told me, they came begging for her to take on the role. You do realize the Sharknado movie franchise prides itself on bad acting, right? I'm pretty sure all the casting agent looks for is the ability of one to scream like a banshee, which we both know she excels at."

EJ smiled. Nicole assumed it was because of her crack on Sami but to EJ it was over something else. "You talk to Sydney?" Of course he knew this, but he didn't want to creep her out by displaying just how much he did know about every detail of her life since he left.

"Yeah, only occasionally though," she clarified, smiling herself at the mention of the little girl she loved like her own. "Whenever Sami does decide to grace Salem with her presence, she arranges for Chad to spend some time with them, and then Chad will call me and let me meet them wherever they go. She's getting so big, EJ." Her hands dropped to her stomach where she knew her own little ones were growing bigger by the minute inside her. Well, as long as she took care of herself they would. "You know what, I hate to interrupt our little chat here but I'm like super starving. I'm assuming you're fully staffed at this joint?"

"Oh, of course, I'll call down to the kitchen and have them bring us up something. What would you like?"

Nicole wrinkled her nose at the thought of food right now. It was only out of necessity she was choosing to eat at all. "I don't know, what's good?"

"Don't worry...I got this," he said picking up the phone and hitting a single button on the side panel, presumably to connect him with the kitchen. After a short pause, he began speaking to the recipient of the call on the other end. "Yes, Mary, I'd like you to send up two plates of Belgian waffles and extra-crisp bacon, along with coffee, milk, and orange juice, please."

Nicole shook her head unbelievingly. "I'm impressed."

"Well, I remember that was always one of your favorite go-to meals at the mansion whenever you were hungry."

"Yeah, that's because Mary made the most amazing Belgian waffles ever! I hope these are just as good!"

"They should be, it's the same Mary making them, you know."

"Oh! I didn't realize she was here. Last time I saw Chad he actually mentioned her so I assumed she was still in Salem."

"Oh, she was up until very recently. I asked her to come because her strongest talent was needed here. You know she's exceptionally good with children."

"Oh, absolutely," Nicole agreed emphatically at first, until she began to wonder why such service was needed. Then she remembered the little boy. "Oh my gosh, yes, who is that little cutie?"

"Why don't we eat first, and then I'll tell you all about him."

"OK," Nicole replied, raising a single eyebrow suspiciously. "Fine, so why don't you clue me in on how it is you're still alive and why you're hiding out?"

"Well for the first part you'll have to ask my father. All I know is he saved my life. I chose to spare myself from the bloody details but apparently, it goes something like when he heard I was shot, he made sure I was pronounced dead so he could bring me back here to heal and I could hide out until it was safe to go back. Anyway, I soon realized that I didn't want to go back. Not to the way things were, at least."

"Are you kidding? What about Johnny and Sydney? They need you, EJ, and my God, they're devastated over losing you! You HAVE to go back."

"I am, soon. Believe me, I can't wait to be with them again but, again...I don't want things to be the way they were. I made up my mind that I'm not going back to Samantha and I'm certainly not about to let her take the reins and dictate how custody will be divided, if she's feeling generous. I want my children back, 24/7 with me, for good."

"That's great, I think you should sue for custody. Johnny and Sydney both have remarked how they never see her anymore. She's always out on the town while they're at home with the nanny."

"I'm about to do more than just that. Right now though, I have another very important matter I need to handle first. It's something that just came up quite unexpectedly and right now I have to focus on that."

"What could possibly be more important than your children?"

 _Thank God_ , EJ thought to himself as he sighed with relief. Mary was just in time with the food.

After a pleasant exchange between the three, which mainly consisted of Mary gushing about how happy she was to see Nicole and EJ in the same room and talking civilly, Mary returned to her duties and EJ and Nicole sat down to enjoy their meal in front of a crackling fire. Nicole couldn't help but admit she wasn't hating the conversation, so much so that she didn't even mind that she still wasn't sure how she factored in to all of this. She was still shocked beyond comprehension, but more than anything, she was happy that he was alive and well and would soon be returning home for Johnny and Sydney. She had no reason to harbor any ill-will against him anyway. They had made their peace before he 'died' and she had since moved on with her life and found the perfect man who was all about her and only her. The only problem was that her Prince Charming was now MIA and refusing to speak with her. Oh dear God, what was she doing here? She needed to get back on the ball and focus on finding Xander, especially now that she was convinced more than ever that he was in trouble.

"What's wrong," EJ said in reaction to her pausing mid-air with a forkful of waffle which eventually got returned to her plate.

"EJ, I can't be here. I have to go. Look, I'm really happy that you're ok, I truly am, and I'm excited for Johnny and Sydney to have their daddy back, but I can't hang around here and play catch-up. I have to find Xander and go home where I belong."

"Nicole, wait, please," he said grabbing her arm with a look of desperation as she started to get up. "I still haven't told you why I reached out to you. You can't leave before I tell you. I won't let you leave until I do."

She reluctantly settled back down next to him. "OK, but can you please make it quick?"

"I will," he replied, nodding agreeably. "But trust me, Nicole. When you hear what I have to say, you won't want to leave."

"Alright, come on...hit me with your best shot."

"OK, before our food arrived, you asked me about Adrian, the little boy."

"Yes, Ok...again, adorable!"

"Then later on in our conversation, you asked me what could be more important than my children, remember?"

Nicole rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah...it wasn't even like ten minutes ago."

"OK, so, the answer to that question is, no one. No one is more important to me than my children. You know that."

"I do, which is why you-"

"Adrian is my son, Nicole."

"You're...you're son? OK, so how did you manage to pull that one off, huh? I sure didn't hear about Sami popping out another kid."

"That's because Samantha is not his mother."

"Oh," she replied, clearly taken aback by his response and left to ponder the possibilities.

"Nicole, his mother is-"

"ABIGAIL! Oh my god! You knocked up a horny little Horton and-"

"No, Nicole. Abigail is not his mother either."

"SO, this is somebody you met here then?"

"NO. Nicole, just stop talking and listen to me, alright? Can you do that for like two minutes?"

"OK," she agreed upon witnessing the seriousness of his demeanor. His hands were on her shoulders, directing, demanding, her attention on him. His eyes implored her to maintain the same, intense eye contact she was currently entrapped in.

"I was in Salem when he was born. He's three years old, Nicole. He just had a birthday last month. October 5th is his birthday." He could see her wheels already spinning but when he mentioned his birth date, there was no mistaking the flicker in her eyes expressing that she understood. Still, her defenses were up, discouraging her to believe what she was hearing.

"No," she replied in barely a whisper. "That's impossible."

"Believe me, I thought the same thing too, but I've had all the tests done to confirm and of course I understand if you want to conduct some tests of your own under your supervision, but I promise you, Nicole...it's true."

"NO! NO, EJ DON'T YOU DARE DO THIS TO ME! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?"

He tightened his grip on her, but solely for the purpose of offering her support. She was shaking violently and he feared that at any moment, she might just conk out on him again. He never knew a person who could faint as much as her.

"Nicole, sweetheart, the ONLY thing I'm doing to you is trying to reunite you with your son, OUR son."

His prediction was right. She finally resigned herself to accept what he was telling her as truth and as a result became the victim of yet another attack of emotional overload and fainted into his arms. This time, he carried her limp body up the stairs and into his bedroom where she would at least be more comfortable until she came to.

Hearing his father upstairs, Adrian escaped from his nanny in his bedroom down the hall and came running into the bedroom full-speed. However, when he caught glimpse of Nicole, he came to a screeching halt.

"It's OK, come here," EJ said smiling welcomingly and beckoning him with a wave. "Come and say hello to your mommy."

"Does she know she's my mommy now?" He began to resume his approach, though considerably more cautiously this time.

"Yes, sweetheart, she knows."

"Why is she sleeping again?"

"She's not sleeping, she fainted. It's like sleeping but you don't do it because you're tired. As for your mommy, she fainted because she was feeling overwhelmed, but in a good way."

"What does overwhelmed mean?"

"Well, I supposed the best way to explain it is that you feel very, very, very, very happy, or very very very very sad, or both very very very very happy AND sad all at the same time. Can you think of a time when you might have felt that way?"

Adrian nodded. "Yeah but I'm not fainted right now."

"Well not everyone will faint, just some. Why did you say 'right now?' Are you feeling overwhelmed, hmm?" EJ pulled Adrian onto his lap and covered his head with kisses to comfort him.

"I feel very happy and very sad."

"Why so sad?"

"Because I want mommy to be awake so I can meet her."

"Aaaah, I see," EJ said smiling with relief. He'd worried that Adrian was still traumatized by being taken away from the bastards who he was led to believe were his parents until he came to the rescue, but their son had adjusted amazingly well to the change as if he just knew he was finally where he belonged.

"Well, between you and me, let's wake her up, come on. Say, 'mommy wake up!"

"Mommy wake up!"

Nicole's eyes fluttered open once again, and once again she was sure she would find that the images playing over and over in her head were only a dream but, sure enough, just like the last time, they were still there when she awoke. The only thing different was that this time EJ was not alone. He was grinning ear-to-ear alongside the little boy bearing an identical smile. His son. Her son. THEIR son.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Later

"I don't want to leave him," Nicole whispered from on her knees as she hovered over Adrian, her SON, stroking his baby-soft, rosy cheeks with the back of her hand as he slept peacefully in his little red, car-shaped toddler bed. "I still can't wrap my head around this, EJ. I can't believe I just spent a whole day with my son."

"I know exactly how you feel," EJ's equally hushed voice came from behind where he stood watching the scene featuring Nicole and his son with complete adoration. "I still feel that way every day. Take as much time as you need. No one is ever going to keep him from you again."

"You're sure he's safe here, right? Whoever took him from us, they're not going to come back for him, are they?"

"I assure you we're ALL safe here. Most involved have already been dealt with and this place is fully wired for security and heavily guarded so even if they were able to track us down, they won't be able to penetrate these walls."

Nicole nodded understandingly. "Good, because you and I need to have a very, long talk and I don't want to do that anywhere around him, even if he's sleeping."

"Of course. If it makes you feel any better, I can access the all the security cameras on my laptop so you can keep an eye on him while we chat. Sound good?"

"Yeah," Nicole replied with a smile, then leaned over to give Adrian multiple kisses all about his cherubic little face before reluctantly rising to her feet. "Let's go."

She followed him down to the living room where EJ immediately began to tinker with his laptop until the desired footage showing Adrian's bedroom from multiple camera angles was displayed. Nicole sat on the sofa and took this time to pull out her cell and make another desperate attempt to reach Xander. Of course she wanted to tell him everything that had just happened but still, more than anything, more than sharing the shocking news about her son even, she just wanted to know he was alright. If the ringer on Xander's cell phone had been turned on, she would have heard the familiar ring tone he'd assigned to her go off accordingly from somewhere in that very room. However, since it was set to silent, the phone merely buzzed in the back pocket of EJ's jeans, warning him that she was trying to contact the bastard again. He could hardly wait to put an end to this Nicole and Xander nonsense once and for all.

"Alright, as promised, here you can see everything," EJ explained as he set down his laptop directly before her on the coffee table. "He's sleeping like a baby, just like we left him."

"Who would do this to us, EJ? If it wasn't your father, which you'd better be telling the truth about when you swear that it wasn't, then who?"

EJ frowned. "Perhaps this will all go down a little easier with a couple martinis. Let me-"

"Not for me, thanks," Nicole interjected quickly. "Still not feeling so hot after dinner. Water would be great though." She was referring to the two times she'd had to excuse herself from the table to make a mad dash to the bathroom to vomit. Just like her birth control, the pills prescribed to control her nausea were not one hundred percent effective.

"I'm sorry you're still not feeling well. I was concerned when I'd heard you'd been rushed to the hospital. those stomach bugs can get quite nasty."

Oh God, if he knew she was taken to the hospital, could he already know she was pregnant? Not that it really mattered except for the fact that she didn't want anyone to know before she had the chance to tell Xander, but still...it was weird that here she was hanging out with her ex-husband while her future with Xander, the father of her little peanuts and the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, was hanging in limbo. Of course Xander would understand if he was aware of the circumstances. It was making him aware which was going to be a challenge.

"I'll be fine, really. I think a lot of it is just from being upset too. I was so happy to be spending time with him but at the same time, I just wanted to scream because I need to know who, and how, and why."

"Well, I can tell you everything I know but, perhaps you'd like to hear it directly from the source."

"What do you mean," Nicole asked as she leaned in toward him with wide eyes.

EJ couldn't help his satisfied smile. He was already picturing her face when the big reveal would be made. "I didn't think it was fair that I should be the only one who gets to confront him. I brought him here so you could have a go at him too."

"Here? You have the bastard who kidnapped our son HERE? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?"

"Nicole, he's not going anywhere. He's shackled to a chair that is bolted to the floor inside a room where you can't get out unless someone lets you out, that's inside of another room where you can't get out unless someone lets you out, in the basement where you can't get out unless someone LETS YOU OUT. He's been here for days without incident. He's not going anywhere until it's time to put him out to pasture."

"Why do you think I would even want to see the son-of-a-bitch?"

"Well, if you don't, that's fine, you don't have to see him. I just thought you might want answers of your own, like why the person responsible felt the need to punish you."

"Punish ME? Who the hell would want to...oh, nevermind. Fine. Take me to this son-of-a-bitch."

"With pleasure." _Damn it, EJ, don't smile. You shouldn't really be enjoying this._ But he couldn't help it. For months he'd fretted about how to rid himself of Xander Kiriakis and then, just like that, his exit had been handed to him on a silver platter. He would have probably ended up offing the poor lad somehow, most likely by staging a tragic car wreck or something similar to that in nature, but now he didn't need some elaborate scheme at all. He could simply walk in, pull the trigger, and send him to sleep with the fishes without having to worry about Nicole finding out about what he had done. It was still a very real possibility that Nicole might even do it herself.

The journey into the dungeon was just as EJ had explained. Even the door leading to the basement was concealed behind a massive bookcase which was opened by a code EJ entered using his cell phone. Once on the lower level, he'd had to input his code twice more to pass through two more areas before arriving at the room which held his prisoner inside. Two burly men stood beside the heavy, steel door at full attention, staring straight forward motionless and expressionless as if they'd been recruits straight from Buckingham Palace.

"Are you sure you're ready for this," EJ said, placing his hands on her shoulders for support. "It doesn't get any more real than this."

"Yes, I'm ready. I have to see this bastard face-to-face."

After the final code was punched in, the click of the lock unhitching could be heard, and EJ grabbed the door and held it open for Nicole to pass through. Once she was inside, he quickly scooted in behind her and pulled the door shut, trapping them both inside with the prisoner. When he saw the look on Nicole's face, staring at the man she claimed to love with all her heart with disbelief, he immediately began to regret his decision to make a production out of the reveal. He didn't see the burning hatred he'd expected to see. Instead, she looked like someone had stuck a knife in her and just kept twisting and twisting until it they found that one spot which hurt the most.

"Nicole!" It was Xander who had spoken, perking up immediately from his slumped-over position in the chair. He had been there chained to that chair for nearly a week now. Twice a day they would free him briefly for bathroom breaks, and twice a day they would bring him just enough food and water to sustain him until necessary, but that was it. The rest of his time had been spent cuffed to the chair for the sole purpose of making his stay there all the more uncomfortable.

She appeared to have no reaction to his voice though her eyes were undoubtedly glued on him. He was growing increasingly nervous. God only knew how many inaccuracies and half-truths EJ had already unloaded on her. "Nicole...love...please. I swear it's not as bad as it seems. Just give me a chance to explain."

It was this statement that floored her. She had been about two seconds away from lashing out at EJ. It was he who she was about to accuse of setting up Xander to take the fall for whoever the real culprit was. Although he hadn't said so yet in so many words, she was getting the feeling that he wanted her back. With their son now back in their lives, even she had to admit that she briefly pondered the possibility, but in her case it was solely for the sake of not having to sacrifice any precious time to be spent with Adrian. EJ however had eluded to wanting more by making his feelings, or lack thereof, toward Sami, clear and it would be just like him to eliminate his competition rather than try to win the game like a man. For a moment she was sure she'd figured out that was exactly what was going on. Then Xander had to go and open his mouth.

"No, Nikki, it IS as bad as it seems," EJ interjected with anger directed only toward Xander. "You wanted to meet the man responsible for stealing our son? Well, you're looking at him!"

"Nicole, please, hear me out, sweetheart, please! You know how much I love you!"

EJ deliberately stepped in between Nicole and Xander's intense gaze, eliminating all eye contact between the two. "Really? Were you thinking about how much you loved her when you kept this knowledge that her son was still alive to yourself?"

"Nicole, please, don't listen to him. It's NOT true!"

"Is that right? Should I play her the audio of our many conversations, or would you rather just tell her the truth now in hopes that she'll forgive you for doing so?"

Nicole felt like someone was kicking at her gut as hard as they possibly could from the inside out and she wasn't nearly far enough along for it to be one or both of the babies. It was simply a physical manifestation of what it felt like to be blindsided by someone she loved so much yet again. It was so unbearable she could only pray that the babies didn't feel it too and that they would never know the person responsible was their very own father.

"Xander, please," she cried desperately. "Explain to me what's going on here."

"I will, I promise, I'll tell you everything just please, don't walk away before I have the chance to explain."

"EJ, will you give us some privacy? Please?"

"Sure," he responded cooperatively though inside he was reeling. Nicole's reactions to things were often unpredictable and there was the very real possibility that she just might forgive him, then what? _Oh come on, EJ, it's not like the guy the guy stole a piece of her jewelry or her Air Supply CD. He stole her child, her CHILD. Not only will she not forgive him, she'll kill him, just like you suspected._

With EJ out of the room, Nicole located a metal folding chair propped up in one of the corners and situated it directly before Xander and took a seat. She was feeling quite fatigued and rather unsteady on her feet and the nausea was settling in full-force again. She had imagined just a few minutes ago that the next time she saw Xander she would be telling him he was going to be a father but all she could think about now was hoping he didn't catch on until she decided how she was going to handle his explanation.

"So whatever's going on here, is this why you've been acting so strangely?"

"Yes. Nicole, I'm so sorry. I didn't know how to handle what I found out. I freaked out and in doing so, I let you down."

Regardless of all the things she'd just heard, she still wanted to jump on him and hug him and thank God for letting him be both alive and still in love with her, but there was something about his gratuitous apologies that creeped her out. He wasn't exactly denying his involvement in anything.

"IS what EJ says true? Were you the one who took our son?"

"I didn't know he was your son. Not at the time, not until last month. The day we found our house is the day I put it all together."

Nicole seemed to calmly consider the information she'd just heard. "So, to answer my question, you were the one who took our son."

"Yes, but I was only doing as instructed. It was Victor who masterminded the whole thing, to punish you and EJ. I didn't even know that much at the time. He told me the baby was Philip's and that the mother was some white trash hussy that he met in a bar and knocked up. He thought the baby's mother would try to use the baby to work her way into the family and use Philip for his money. He said he killed the mother and would introduce him to Philip when the time was right."

Nicole shook her head in disgust. "And you say you know your uncle so well. Victor would never keep Philip from his child."

"I do know that, it never made sense to me! That's when I just resigned myself to the fact that Victor simply didn't want me to know what it was all about, and that was fine because that's they way things were done. I never questioned his instructions for me, I just DID them."

"So, in other words, don't shoot you, you're just the messenger? Is that how you want me to react?"

"No, of course not! I knew how you would feel, that's why I couldn't even bring myself to look you in the eye anymore. To know I was partly responsible for causing you so much pain...I hated myself for it enough for both of us. I knew once you found out you would never look at me the same."

Xander watched in horror as her face grew completely distorted with a mixture of disappointment, sadness, anger, and God only knows what else while tears began to trickle down her cheeks in steady, unrelenting streams.

"So that's why you were in such a rush to get married and have the baby, isn't it? You weren't even going to tell me! That's what EJ was trying to say, isn't it? You wanted us to go on like nothing ever happened so our lives could continue on the way we planned, and my S-S-SON B-BEING ALIVE WOULDN'T COM-PLI-CATE THINGS!"

"Nicole, no!" He was so desperate to reach out to her. She was growing hysterical, and her voice was so overcome with emotion at times that it had taken her several attempts to say what was on her mind. "Please, love, just try to understand how for a moment, you could be so afraid of losing someone that you love SO MUCH that you make some really stupid decisions. I know you can relate to that, please. I'm not trying to throw your past mistakes in your face, I-"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

The next thing he knew, she was on top of him, alternating pounding her fists into his chest, slapping his face, and wringing his neck, while proclaiming her hatred for him at the top of her lungs. He tried desperately to get through to her that he'd changed his mind and was ready to sacrifice his own happiness for hers but he was sure that even if she had heard it through her angry screams, it was only falling on deaf ears now. At this point, he decided to throw it all out there while dodging the well-deserved physical assault as best as he could. There was nothing left to lose.

"I love you, Nicole! I love you so much. I love you so much. I'm not asking you for your forgiveness, because I know I don't deserve it. I just want you to know that I mean it, that I have never been so in love with somebody my entire life. I just didn't know what would become of me if I'd lost you and I freaked out but I DID change my mind and the night I left you I left to go and find him because I knew that bringing him home to you was the only way that I could ever look you in the eye again and tell you how much I love you without feeling like a liar and a hypocrite."

She collapsed against him, and for a moment he thought she had done it out of affection. Maybe, by some miracle she had decided to forgive him and she had fallen into his arms seeking comfort. But then he noticed she wasn't moving, and if EJ hadn't made it back into the room in time, she would have fallen off of his lap and straight onto the floor.

"Nicole," Xander blurted out in a panic as he helplessly watched EJ pick up her pale, motionless body into his arms. "You bastard," he said, spitting on the floor in EJ's direction, only because Nicole was acting as somewhat of a shield to his intended target. "You got yourself a thrill out of the whole thing, didn't you? You knew how upset she would be but you insisted on torturing her, you piece of shit! NICOLE!" She remained unresponsive. "What the hell, aren't you even going to try to check on her?"

"She'll be fine. Nicole is no longer your concern, but don't fret. You won't suffer much longer. Say your goodbyes now because this is the last you will ever see of her."

Xander shut his eyes tightly. The thought of never seeing her again was too much to bear, but then in his mind he saw the scenes from earlier today, which EJ had been so thoughtful to share with him by having them displayed on a computer monitor for his torture, Of Nicole smiling brilliantly as she held her son in her arms for the first time ever. She was happy and that was all that really mattered and at least he knew that in a way, he was responsible for bringing him back to her. If he hadn't questioned it at all, EJ would have never found out and Victor probably would have succeeded with his plan to have the boy raised to despise her and eventually, destroy her with the ultimate reveal that the man who hated her so much was her own son. At the very least, the questions he raised stopped that from happening and if he was going to die, he couldn't think of a better way to go than sacrificing himself for the woman he loved.

"Goodbye, Nicole Walker," he said as he felt a single tear trickle down his cheek. "I'm so glad that you finally have the child that you wanted so much because I knew that was the one thing that could make you truly happy. I know that little boy is the love of your life but I hope you know that you will always be mine."


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

EJ watched with uneasiness as Nicole writhed around on his bed in a semi-conscious but unresponsive state, crying and repeating the same phrase over and over again.

"Xander! Xander, no!"

He'd tried on several occasions to wake her from this state but she never once opened her eyes. It was as if she was stuck in some perpetual nightmare where she was being held prisoner and she would never be able to wake up unless she was able to somehow break free in the dream itself. Although he would admit it to no one, Xander's criticism about the way he handled breaking the news to her had been cruel, and more for his amusement and desire to get even with Mr. Kiriakis than anything else. Sure, she did in fact mutter the words that she wanted to kill him, but only in the same, innocent way that the expression was used by thousands daily to express the extremity of their anger. She was completely incapable of pulling the trigger for real which was exactly why he would have to do it without her as soon as the doctor showed up to examine her.

It was the third time in little more than eight hours that she had passed out on him. It wasn't unusual for her to faint when sick or overwhelmed, he'd seen her do so on several occasions under both circumstances, but never more than once within such a small time-frame. This latest episode had him extremely concerned for her well-being since she refused to wake up.

His cell phone rang. He was hoping it was the doctor to say he was on his way but it was Marco, one of this men that was immediately in charge of guarding Xander.

"Sir, I'm sorry to bother you but we've run into a bit of trouble down here. We let the bastard out for one of his bathroom breaks and he got a hold of Rocco and snapped his neck. He's dead, Sir!"

"Wonderful! What is his situation right now?"

"I managed to get him back in the chair after I gave him a good whack to the head with my gun. I didn't want to do anything more to him since I figured you'd be down soon to finish the job. I know how you personally wanted to take care of this."

"Yes, don't do a thing. I'll be down there in a minute to finish him off myself."

Great...just, superb! If he wasn't already worried enough about Nicole now he had to deal with this mess. Oh well, how long could it really take to simply aim the gun and fire? He'd already had his fun with the poor bastard. Maybe too much fun.

"Where are you going?"

He stopped in his tracks upon hearing her voice. "Nicole, sweetheart, oh thank god! You had me scared to death!" As he rushed back to her side, she was already pulling herself to the edge of the bed to sit up. "No, no no, you...back into bed!"

"Where were you going just now?"

"Shhhh, don't worry about it," he said as he grabbed her by the shoulders and began forcing her to lay back down. "You just lay down and relax. I will be back in five minutes, alright?"

"OK," she said with a forced smile as she cooperated with all his requests. At least until he was out of the room.  
She gave him a thirty second head start, then bolted from the room to follow after him, her heart pounding at the rate of about a million beats per second. She had overheard enough of his conversation to put two and two together. He was on his way downstairs to kill Xander.

She had managed to successfully fly under his radar until he reached the entrance to the basement. She knew there was no way now that she could pass through undetected so she was left with no other choice but to surrender herself to him and pray that she would be able to schmooze her way in.

"Nicole! What the hell-"

"I know what you're about do. Don't you dare go in there without me. I need to see this for myself."

EJ couldn't help but to smile. His little plan hadn't been so disastrous after all. "If that's what you want, but darling, are you sure you're up for this right now?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Alright," he nodded. "Follow me."

"Mr. Kiriakis," EJ greeted his doomed prisoner smugly. "I owe you an apology, sir. It seems the last time we met I swore to you it was the last time you'd see Nicole, but she insisted that she be here to bid you your final farewell."

 _Oh god, not again_ , she thought to herself as the room began to spin around her. _Focus, Nicole, focus. Take deep breaths and relax. You can do this. Oh shit! He's already aiming the gun._

"Sweetheart? Anything you would like to say to Mr. Kiriakis?"

She had no words for Xander, at least for the moment. It was EJ she needed to talk to but her damn mouth was not cooperating.

"I guess not. Oh well, bye-bye dickhead."

This time, she reacted the instant she saw EJ's finger began to squeeze the trigger. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO," she screamed, as she threw herself directly in the bullet's intended path by hopping onto Xander's lap and throwing her arms around him. The gun went off. Xander and EJ both screamed out her name in horrified unison. It was one of those moments where it took everyone involved quite some time to comprehend exactly what had just happened.

Xander let his cheek collapse against the top of Nicole's head. He could hear her sobbing softly but the reason for her tears was still unclear. Did she get hit? Was she hurt? Was he hurt? He didn't even know the answer to that.

"Nicole, please love, say something. Are you alright?" It was beyond frustrating that he couldn't touch her and evaluate her condition for himself.

EJ sighed with relief. He had reacted quickly enough to miss her head by a mere few inches as indicated by the fresh bullet hole in the wall just to the left of them.

"I'm OK," she finally said softly as she burrowed her head deeper into the crook between his shoulder and chin. "Are you OK?"

"I'm OK," Xander said reassuringly, pressing his lips firmly to her forehead as his only means of showing physical affection for the moment. "My God, love, what the hell were you thinking?"

"Yes, Nicole. What the hell WERE you thinking," EJ said, echoing Xander's sentiment.

Her response was directed to EJ but it was Xander who had her full attention as she spoke. She pulled away from him just enough so that she could look him in the eyes while she delivered her reply. "I was thinking that I can't let you kill the man I love. The man who's going to be a father to our children very soon."

Xander smiled, genuinely happily for the first time in weeks. "Does this mean you've forgiven me? I guess the fact that you still want to have children with me is a good sign, right?"

"Yes, I've forgiven you," she said gleefully as she grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him full on the lips passionately, though she kept it brief for the time being. She realized he wasn't fully grasping what she was trying to tell him, and she couldn't wait to see his reaction when he realized that she was actually pregnant. "And I guess the fact that you're excited about me still wanting to have children with you is good news considering the fact that we should be having two of them in less than seven months."

His eyes were twinkling with delight though slightly cloudy with a hint of confusion. "IS there something you didn't tell me, love? It does take nine months to make a baby, right?"

"Yes of course, but considering I'm already nine weeks along, be prepared to meet your children on or around April 23rd."

"YOU'RE nine weeks along? You're PREGNANT?"

"Yes! I'm pregnant!"

"Wait a minute, did you just say chil-DREN? As in more than one?"

"Yes, twins," she said, nodding emphatically. "I've already seen our little peanuts. I'm so sorry you weren't there to see them too, but the doc says they're doing great. Why wouldn't they be, right? Their big brother was born perfectly healthy."

"Nicole, you do believe I was going to tell you, right?"

"I do," she nodded, cupping his face in her hand while she gazed into his eyes hoping to convey every ounce of forgiveness she felt in her heart. "I also remembered a few times when I did some really stupid things to hold onto someone I loved and how grateful I felt for being forgiven. Especially when I never meant to hurt anyone."

Neither one noticed EJ slip out of the room at this point, leaving the two of them trapped inside, and frankly, neither one cared. Between making up for lost time sharing intimacies and sharing excitement over their little ones to come and their future together as a family, it was hours before they began to realize that if it was left up to EJ, there may be no future for them to speak of.


End file.
